WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in releasing the following statement following NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s confirmation of a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy:
“In March, bipartisan members of Congress urged the Department of Commerce to suspend or reconsider NVIDIA’s export licenses to China and conduct a full national security review. Since then, NVIDIA has reportedly received approvals to export hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to China, including to companies tied to China’s military, all while attempting to influence the debate over chip controls in Washington, D.C.
“NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s confirmation of a relationship with a suspected spy for China’s intelligence service makes these national security concerns even more urgent and raises important questions NVIDIA must answer about the extent to which these activities were related.
“It is time for Congress to take decisive action to pass key bills like the AI Overwatch Act in the NDAA that will cut off the various pathways through which China accesses advanced chips. The Commerce Department should complement these efforts with immediate action to close export control loopholes and ensure that advanced AI chips are not going to China’s military.”
Background:
In April 2026, Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the AI OVERWATCH Act. This bill ensures that the chips powering the next generation of AI fuel American innovation and American national security, not the military and surveillance apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party.
The AI OVERWATCH Act codifies President Trump’s restrictions on exports of the most advanced AI Chips to foreign adversaries and was included in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), ensuring that the chips powering the next generation of artificial intelligence strengthen American innovation and national security.
