Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Kennedy, John [R-LA]
Introduced
Summary
transparency and limits on foreign third-party litigation funding would be the core change in the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025. The bill would require courts and parties to disclose foreign funders, demand certifications under penalty of perjury, and bar funding from foreign states and sovereign wealth funds.
Show full summary
- Litigants funded by foreign third parties would have to disclose the funder’s name, address, and citizenship or country of incorporation, produce any funding agreement, and file a sworn certification about the source of the money. These disclosures must be made within 30 days after the agreement is executed or the case is filed, with updates within 30 days of learning errors.
- Foreign funders face new limits because any agreement that creates contingent payment rights funded by a foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund would be unlawful and treated as null and void.
- Courts and the Justice Department would get new tools and oversight. The bill treats disclosures as information required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) and allows Rule 37 sanctions for violations. The Attorney General must report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within 1 year and then annually with funder identities, districts, estimated totals by country, and summaries of the cases funded.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
Annual DOJ report on foreign funding
If enacted, the Attorney General would have to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within one year and then every year. The report would list foreign funders, where funding occurred, estimated amounts by country, and summaries of the civil cases involved.
New sworn foreign-funding disclosures
If enacted, parties or their lawyers in federal civil cases would have to file sworn disclosures about foreign third-party funding. You must give names, addresses, and country information for foreign funders and produce any funding agreement. Disclosures are due by the later of 30 days after a funding deal or the case filing, with corrections due within 30 days after you learn of errors. Failures can trigger Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 sanctions.
Who counts as foreign funders
If enacted, the bill would define who counts as a foreign person, a foreign state, and a sovereign wealth fund. It would apply those definitions and the bill's rules to any federal civil case pending on or filed on or after the date of enactment. These definitions decide which funders and agreements the rules cover.
Ban on foreign-state lawsuit funding
If enacted, the bill would make void any contingent-fee deal that pays a third party from money tied to a foreign state or its sovereign wealth fund. The ban covers payments to anyone other than the named parties or the lawyers of record, including portfolio arrangements. This would limit some outside funding options while aiming to protect court integrity.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kennedy, John [R-LA]
LA • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE]
NE • R
Sponsored 4/28/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov