Mo Brooks calls on state government leaders to close Confucius Institutes at public universities

Earlier this year, State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) unveiled a bill that would ban Confucius Institutes from operating on publicly-funded college campuses in Alabama.

While it remains to be seen if his effort will gain traction in the Alabama Legislature, he has an ally in U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), who during an interview on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” underscored the perceived threat of Confucius Institutes to national security given the entities’ ties to the Chinese government.

Brooks said he had reached out to Gov. Kay Ivey and others in Alabama state government about the two facilities operating in Alabama, one at Alabama A&M in Huntsville and another at Troy University. Brooks said Ivey told him it was not her “job.”

“The Confucius Institutes are dangerous to the United States of America,” Brooks said. “They are spying platforms for the Communist Chinese Party. They are propaganda platforms for the Communist Chinese Party. Dozens of states, out of patriotism, have shut down dozens of Confucius Institutes in their states. It baffles me that Governor Kay Ivey and the rest of our state government leadership persist in allowing Confucius Institutes, arms of the Communist Chinese Party to operate on campuses — Alabama A&M University in Huntsville or Troy University down in the Wiregrass.”

“I have personally in correspondence asked the governor’s office, along with other state leaders, to close down Confucius Institutes, to do what’s in the best interest of America, to pay heed to the intelligence that we have gathered that reveals how dangerous these facilities are,” he continued. “And the only reaction that I’ve got so far from the principle hierarchy of state government is, ‘It’s not my job. Let those universities shut them down.’ Well, to me, that’s an abdication of leadership, and I urge Governor Ivey, Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon to use the power of the executive branch, the Governor’s office, and the legislative branch to help protect America from propaganda and spying and the dangers of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Brooks reiterated his response from Ivey was, “It’s not my job.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.