Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter calling out Bob Sternfels, Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, for his apparently false comments in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing earlier this month. Senator Hawley also announced the reintroduction of the Time to Choose Act to address the consulting firm’s close ties to China.

Mr. Sternfels, who appeared in a committee hearing on February 6, 2024, told the Senator under oath that his company has “never worked with the Chinese Communist Party or the central government in China, to the best of [his] knowledge." However, new reporting reveals that the Urban China Initiative – a McKinsey-helmed project –released a book that directly contributed to China’s Made in China 2025 industrial plan, which accelerated Chinese trade abuses and the deterioration of U.S.-China relations.

"Your company alleges that its purpose is to “help create positive, enduring change in the world.” You should know that helping totalitarian foreign powers undermine America does not meet that bar. This ugly record can—and must—inform whether the American government, or anyone else, can safely trust your company’s services in the future," wrote Senator Hawley. 

You can read the full letter here.

Senator Hawley’s newly reintroduced Time to Choose Act would:  

  • Prohibit federal agencies from contracting with consulting firms that hold a contract with the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, or subsidiaries, affiliates, or proxies thereof.
  • Impose penalties on consulting firms that intentionally hide or misrepresent contracts with the Chinese entities described above, including:
    • Terminating affected federal contracts.
    • Debarring relevant firms from future work with the federal government.
    • Requiring relevant firms to pay damages equivalent to three times the amount spent by the U.S. government on or in support of the solicitation, selection, or performance of such contracts, pursuant to the False Claims Act. 

You can read the bill text here.

Issues
China