FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
November 19, 2025

Cotton to Bondi: Investigate Counterfeit Drugs

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging an investigation into the surge of illicit counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients entering the United States from unregistered foreign entities, primarily Communist China. Counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients jeopardize the health of all Arkansans.

In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

“I write to express concern about the surge in illicit counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients entering the United States from unregistered foreign entities, primarily in Communist China. Counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients jeopardize the health of all Americans and pose a national security risk, especially when sourced from adversarial nations.”

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

November 19, 2025

The Honorable Pam Bondi
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Bondi:

I write to express concern about the surge in illicit counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients entering the United States from unregistered foreign entities, primarily in Communist China. Counterfeit drugs and drug ingredients jeopardize the health of all Americans and pose a national security risk, especially when sourced from adversarial nations.

On February 19, 2025, 38 state and territory attorneys general wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raising alarms that counterfeit drugs from China, India, and Turkey, which often contain dangerous contaminants, have entered our supply chain. FDA and Custom and Border Patrol’s own import database shows that from September 2023 to January 2025, 60 shipments of active ingredients used in anti-obesity medications had entered into the U.S. from unregistered entities in China. Between January 2020 and October 2023, there were 38 reports of Americans ingesting drugs containing counterfeit active ingredients, with 25 of those reports describing serious health episodes including miscarriage, pancreatitis, and two deaths.

On February 28, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about weight loss drugs containing counterfeit ingredients. The FBI warned that in one instance, fraudulent drugs purporting to contain legitimate ingredients had been found instead to contain “mixtures of unknown drugs, drugs with high levels of impurities, and unsafe or unapproved drugs.” Experts estimate that the foreign counterfeit drug trade is a $431 billion industry.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) must investigate and prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law. For those reasons, please answer the following questions by December 19, 2025:

  1. What actions has DOJ taken with regards to international counterfeit drug and drug ingredient smuggling?
  2. Is DOJ collaborating with any other federal agencies to disrupt these criminal organizations?
  3. What criminal activities are being funded through the counterfeit drug trade?

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton
United States Senator

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