BREAKING: Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces Bill to Block George Soros Funding of Protests — Proposes RICO Classification for “Organized Disruption”
By Elena Vasquez, Political Correspondent Washington, D.C. – November 6, 2025
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill with the introduction of the “Stop Foreign-Funded Chaos Act” (SFFCA), a sweeping bill aimed at curtailing billionaire George Soros’s alleged financing of nationwide protests. Unveiled Wednesday morning in a packed Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the legislation seeks to classify coordinated protest funding from foreign-influenced entities as racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) — potentially freezing Soros-linked accounts and imposing felony charges on facilitators. “George Soros isn’t exercising free speech; he’s bankrolling anarchy,” Cruz declared, his voice echoing through the Dirksen Senate Office Building. “This bill ends the secret cash pipelines fueling riots, blockades, and chaos across America.”
The SFFCA, co-sponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), targets nonprofit networks tied to Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF), which has disbursed over $32 billion globally since 1979, including $215 million to U.S. activist groups in 2024 alone. Cruz’s 28-page bill mandates Treasury Department scrutiny of grants exceeding $50,000 to organizations involved in “disruptive civil actions” — defined as protests causing $100,000+ in economic damage or violating federal injunctions. Violators face RICO prosecution, asset forfeiture, and up to 20 years in prison. “If passed, we could freeze accounts overnight,” Cruz emphasized, citing OSF’s funding of groups like the Tides Foundation, which channeled $18 million to pro-Palestine campus encampments and anti-ICE rallies this year.
Cruz’s salvo builds on longstanding GOP grievances. Since 2020’s Black Lives Matter upheavals — where OSF grants topped $220 million — conservatives have accused Soros of “buying unrest.” Recent flashpoints include $12 million to climate blockades disrupting D.C. traffic and $8 million to migrant caravan organizers. The bill invokes RICO’s enterprise clause, equating funding networks to “criminal syndicates.” “This isn’t about one man; it’s about foreign billions hijacking American streets,” Cruz said, waving FEC filings showing OSF’s Hungarian roots — Soros, 95, fled Nazi-occupied Budapest in 1947.
The proposal landed like a grenade in a polarized Senate. Republicans hailed it as “long-overdue accountability.” Hawley tweeted: “Soros funds chaos — time to treat it like the crime it is.” Trump amplified on Truth Social: “Ted Cruz’s bill is GENIUS! Stop Soros Cold — Freeze the Funds!” The post garnered 8.2 million views, with #FreezeSoros trending No. 1.
Democrats decried it as authoritarian overreach. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted: “This is McCarthyism on steroids — chilling free speech to silence dissent.” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero warned of “slippery slopes,” noting RICO’s potential misuse against labor unions or environmental groups. OSF president Mark Malloch-Brown called it “a dangerous assault on philanthropy,” vowing legal challenges: “Protecting democracy isn’t racketeering.”
Legal experts are split. Harvard’s Laurence Tribe labeled it “unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination,” predicting Supreme Court rejection under NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware (1982), which shielded protest funding. Conversely, former AG Bill Barr endorsed: “If coordinated to incite violence, RICO fits — like mafia shakedowns.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, testifying remotely, signaled administration support: “Foreign influence in domestic unrest demands scrutiny.”
The bill’s path is treacherous. With Democrats holding a slim Senate majority until January, passage requires 60 votes — necessitating defections from moderates like Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who expressed “concerns over foreign cash in politics.” House Republicans, controlling 220 seats, vow swift approval post-lame-duck. Cruz eyes a December markup, tying it to shutdown negotiations: “End the chaos funding, or no CR.”
Soros’s empire — managing $25 billion in assets — faces immediate peril. OSF paused U.S. grants pending review, per internal memos leaked to Politico. Allies like Color of Change and Indivisible mobilized: “This criminalizes advocacy,” said president Rashad Robinson.
As hearings loom November 18, Washington’s elite scramble. K Street lobbyists flood Cruz’s office with counter-proposals; donor retreats cancel Soros keynotes. Polls show public ambivalence: Rasmussen finds 58% support “transparency in protest funding,” but CNN reports 62% fear “government overreach.”
Cruz, undeterred, ended his presser with a challenge: “America’s streets aren’t for sale. This bill says: Not on our watch.” In a capital gripped by shutdown stalemate and midterm fever, the SFFCA isn’t just legislation — it’s a declaration of war on shadow influence. If enacted, Soros’s billions freeze; if not, the protests roll on. Either way, the elite’s scramble has only begun.
