Former Rand Paul aide Brian Darling helps Chinese drone manufacturer, online retailer fight sanctions
When Washington’s top lobbying firms dropped many of their Chinese clients last year, fearing members of Congress would blacklist their lobbyists for aiding the CCP, two of the communist regime’s largest companies—drone maker DJI Technologies and online retailer Shein—turned to a boutique lobbying shop founded by a former aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), giving the Chinese companies a powerful ally in Washington as they aim to avoid U.S. sanctions.
DJI and Shein hired Brian Darling, the owner of Liberty Government Affairs, in Feb. 2024, according to lobbying records. The move came days after reports surfaced that members of Congress planned to close their doors to lobbying firms that represented Chinese clients. Darling, who served as Paul’s counsel and senior communications director until 2015, has since received nearly $250,000 from the two firms, records show.
The connection to Paul gives DJI and Shein a key alliance in Washington as the firms come under increased scrutiny from Congress and national security agencies. Paul, who chairs the powerful Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, has provided a sympathetic ear for China. Paul strongly opposes banning TikTok, the Chinese-controlled social media app. Last year, he accused his fellow Republicans of “beating the drums” for war with Beijing,
For DJI Technologies, Darling has lobbied Congress against the Countering CCP Drones Act, a bill first introduced by former Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), now the ambassador to the United Nations, to block new models of DJI drones from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure. Darling has also lobbied against the STOP Illicit Drones Act, which bars the Federal Aviation Administration from giving licenses to Chinese, Russian, and Iranian drone companies.
DJI sells many of the commercial drones used by various industries and hobbyists. But members of Congress and national security officials have expressed concerns they could be used to spy on Americans and, as Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) has said, “gather data or carry harmful payloads” for the Chinese government. A joint release from the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency last year warned that Chinese-manufactured drones “pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure and U.S. national security.”
For Shein, Darling represents the company on “legislative issues” and “trade.” The Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security, is reportedly considering adding Shein to an import blacklist for allegedly relying on forced labor in China’s Xinjiang province to make many of its goods.
It is unclear whether Darling has discussed any of those issues with Paul, whose committee has direct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Darling told the Washington Free Beacon he has had “numerous meetings discussing both client’s issues” with House and Senate Republicans and their staffers.
He defended his work for Shein and DJI, calling them “amazing companies that should be embraced by American consumers and studied by American companies to find ways to better compete.”
“The opposition to both companies have come from competitors using government power and protectionist allies to impact competition instead of beating them in the free market,” he said.
