Congressional Republicans are celebrating Christian pastor Ezra Jin Mingri’s release from a Chinese prison just weeks after Mr. Trump brought up his case when meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Mr. Jin, who had been jailed since October, arrived back in the U.S. on Friday,
The Jin family released a statement thanking Mr. Trump for advocating for Mr. Jin.
“We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations,” the statement said.
Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, credited Mr. Jin’s liberation to “God’s grace” and “President Trump for calling for this during his meeting with Xi Jinping.”
Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican, thanked Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We cannot stop fighting to hold COMMUNIST CHINA accountable for ALL of their crimes,” he said in a statement.
Congressional Democrats, many of whom called for Mr. Trump to push for Mr. Jin’s release, mostly withheld comment on the turn of events.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia was one of the few to make a statement.
“What great news — after our advocacy, Pastor Ezra Jin is free and back with his family after being unjustly detained by the Chinese government,” he wrote on social media.
In March, Mr. Kaine led a bipartisan letter urging Mr. Trump to advocate for Mr. Jin’s release at the summit with Mr. Xi.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, the Democratic co-chair of the China committee, has not made a public statement. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
After Mr. Trump raised the topic in Beijing, he said he believed Mr. Xi was “giving very serious consideration to the pastor.”
Mr. Jin, who founded the underground Beijing Zion Church, was arrested with 17 other church leaders in October 2025. It was China’s largest crackdown on a single church in decades.
Mr. Jin was charged with illegally using information networks.
The church has been forced to conduct much of its activities online since authorities shuttered its physical location in 2018.
China has not explained Jin’s release. The Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
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