Republicans Urge Probe Into Treasury Department Cyberattack

Republican lawmakers are demanding urgent answers from the Biden administration regarding a Chinese-backed cyberattack that successfully breached the U.S. Treasury Department last month. The attack, which targeted department employee workstations and unclassified documents, has raised serious concerns over the Biden administration’s handling of cybersecurity threats from China.

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Representative French Hill (R-AR), vice chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter Tuesday demanding a full briefing from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“This breach of federal government information is extremely concerning,” the lawmakers wrote. “As you know, Treasury maintains some of the most highly sensitive information on U.S. persons throughout government, including tax information, business beneficial ownership, and suspicious activity reports.”

The letter also slammed the Biden administration’s failure to prevent such attacks and called for stronger measures to protect U.S. financial data from Chinese surveillance.

The Treasury Department publicly commented on the attack for the first time Tuesday, revealing it had been notified of the breach on December 8. In a letter to lawmakers, Assistant Secretary for Management Aditi Hardikar confirmed the breach was linked to a Chinese-backed intelligence group, labeling it a “major cybersecurity incident.”

Hardikar claimed that Treasury believes China no longer has access to its systems, but Scott and Hill are not convinced. They have given the Treasury Department until January 10 to provide a detailed briefing on:

• Which Chinese-sponsored group was behind the attack

• The full extent of the data compromised

• Measures taken to prevent future breaches

Despite mounting evidence linking Chinese hackers to the attack, Beijing has denied involvement, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning dismissing the accusations as “groundless.”

China has been repeatedly linked to major cyberattacks targeting the U.S. government, including a recent breach that accessed tens of thousands of emails from State Department employees. Yet, under Biden, China continues to act with impunity, exploiting weak U.S. cybersecurity policies.

With U.S. financial data at risk, lawmakers are demanding the Biden administration take cybersecurity threats from China more seriously. Critics argue that under President Trump, China faced crippling sanctions and direct consequences for cyber espionage. In contrast, Biden’s weak stance has emboldened Chinese hackers to continue targeting critical U.S. institutions.

The Treasury breach is another stark reminder of the Biden administration’s failure to protect American interests from foreign adversaries. As Republicans push for accountability, the question remains: Will Biden act, or will China continue to exploit U.S. vulnerabilities?

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