Trump unleashes ‘toughest fentanyl crackdown in history’ as GOP vows ‘consequences’ for Chinese producers

Biotech CEO aims to make potential fentanyl vaccine 'as easily accessible' as possible Fox News senior national correspondent Rich Edson has the latest on how a biotech company plans to test its vaccine that could protect people from fentanyl's lethal effects on 'Special Report.' The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will ratchet up the Trump administration's crackdown on highly addictive fentanyl flowing from China, building on President Donald Trump ’s ongoing effort to stop the flow of the illicit drug that has devastated U.S. communities. "President Trump is leading the toughest fentanyl crackdown in American history - and it’s going to save lives," Republican Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr told Fox News Digital. "While past Presidents like Joe Biden allowed adversaries to flood the U.S. with deadly fentanyl, President Trump is taking the fight directly to the drug cartels and their Chinese suppliers." Trump signed the NDAA into law Thursday, which includes provisions from Barr’s legislation, H.R. 747. The provisions amend the existing Fentanyl Sanctions Act to expand the definition of "foreign opioid trafficker" to include Chinese entities and officials involved in the opioid industry who fail to stop trafficking. The NDAA is a roughly $901 billion package that includes defense policy unlocking funding for several of the Trump administration’s national defense priorities, including regarding decades-old war authorities, strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean , Ukraine, lifting sanctions and Washington, D.C.’s, airspace. TRUMP TARGETS MADURO AS WESTERN HEMISPHERE BECOMES ‘FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE’ IN NEW STRATEGY A signed executive order is displayed behind President Donald Trump during a Mexican Border Defense medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Under the provision, designated entities could face sweeping financial penalties and visa bans, which would effectively cut them off from the U.S. financial system. "I’m proud to stand with him, which is why I led the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, legislation heading to his desk this week to sanction anyone in China producing illegal fentanyl used in drug trafficking," added Barr, who is running for the Senate in Kentucky to replace retiring longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. "More than half the fentanyl that comes into our country comes from China and 70% of overdoses involve fentanyl. We are sending a clear message to China: if you manufacture fentanyl that kills Americans, there will be consequences." SOUTHCOM SAYS 8 NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED IN LATEST EASTERN PACIFIC LETHAL KINETIC STRIKES Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., smiles during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) The defense spending budget comes the same week Trump signed a historic executive order declaring illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction. The order stated fentanyl is "closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic," noting that just two milligrams can kill someone. "Today, I'm taking another step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country," Trump said from...

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