After years of reports detailing Chinese government influence operations through Confucius Institutes, the Department of War is taking action. The move recognizes that hostile activity does not always arrive with soldiers, tanks, or conventional weapons.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned on October 23 that federal scrutiny had driven closures of Confucius Institutes operating at colleges and universities across the country. Those programs had served as influence covers and intellectual property thieves for the Chinese Communist Party.

Hegseth compared the persistence of foreign propaganda operations with efforts by domestic ideological programs to survive through rebranding. He said promoters frequently change names rather than abandon their objectives when federal officials begin applying pressure.

“When I took office, one thing we knew was that the cancer of DEI , it was gonna be difficult to kill here in the Department of War. You see, instead of complying, promoters of this ideology just tried to rebrand it and thought they would be safe. Now, we were onto it, not gonna let that happen on our watch,” Hegseth said.

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The secretary said the Department of War had removed DEI programs before shifting its attention toward Confucius Institutes. He presented both efforts as examples of officials confronting operations that reappeared under different branding.

“We ripped it out of the Department of War, root and branch. We are gender-neutral, color-blind, and merit-based. Now, today, in a similar example, I want to tell you about Confucius Institutes,” Hegseth declared.

The CCP is described as America’s leading foreign enemy and reportedly told its people in 2019 that it was entering a war phase with the United States. That confrontation does not necessarily require conventional military force because it can include asymmetric warfare.

Hegseth said Chinese government backed cultural and propaganda programs had established a presence in universities across nearly every state. Although Congress banned Confucius Institutes several years ago, he said the operations returned under different names and organizational structures.

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“These Chinese government-backed propaganda cultural programs had infiltrated our nation's universities in almost every state. Now, thankfully, Congress banned them a few years ago, these Confucius Institutes. But they came back disguised in new forms, just like DEI does. Just call it a different name. Well, the Department of War has taken action to stop this as well.”

The Department of War also funds troop degrees at numerous universities, giving the department leverage over institutions connected with the programs. Hegseth said officials used that leverage while identifying organizations viewed as threats to national security.

“We added these sleeper organizations to our list of institutions that threaten our national security ,” Hegseth said. “It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students.”

Hegseth said the Department of War had systematically dismantled every one of those organizations during the previous two months. His message was blunt for foreign countries seeking American inventions or attempting to influence students against their own country.

“So, at the Department of War, within the last two months, we have systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations, using the leverage that we have here at the War Department. Let this be a lesson to any country trying to steal our hard-earned inventions or turn our young people against their own country: we're done with that. No more and never again,” he promised.

Hegseth concluded by urging universities to remain alert and prevent the organizations from returning under yet another identity. “To these universities, I say, just like the Department of War, stay vigilant. Don't allow these influences to come back in. God bless you, God bless our Republic, and God bless all our troops,” Hegseth ended.

The War Department has designated Confucius Institutes as a threat to our national security. https://t.co/bvMTUBwGei

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 23, 2026

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