Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) pressed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about his upcoming trip to China, voicing concerns that the visit could legitimize companies working closely with the Chinese military or seeking to take advantage of gaps in U.S. export controls.
The bipartisan senators urged Huang on Friday to refrain from meeting with companies doing business with the country’s military or intelligence, in addition to those that face U.S. export restrictions or are suspected of trying to evade U.S. curbs.
“There is a new bipartisan consensus that the hardware powering advanced AI, which includes NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), is of immense strategic importance,” the pair wrote in Friday’s letter.
“If exported freely to the [People’s Republic of China], this hardware could accelerate the PRC’s efforts to modernize its military,” they continued.
Nvidia produces chips that have become central to powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. However, some of its most advanced chips are subject to U.S. export controls.
Huang is expected to travel to Beijing next week to meet with top Chinese leaders while at the International Supply Chain Expo, according to The Financial Times.
The trip comes as Nvidia reportedly plans to release a new chip for China designed to comply with the U.S. restrictions.
“We hope you agree that it would be deeply irresponsible for an American CEO to meet with companies that violate U.S. law and are actively developing military capabilities that could undermine U.S. national security,” Warren and Banks added. “We ask that you refrain from any such meetings during your upcoming trip.”
The duo this spring urged further review of Nvidia’s plans to open a research facility in Shanghai, citing national and economic security worries.
The Nvidia CEO was spotted by reporters at the White House on Thursday, the same day the company became the first to close with a market capitalization above $4 trillion.
The chipmaker briefly crossed the milestone Wednesday morning, before dipping back down below $4 trillion.
The company, which first hit the $1 trillion mark just two years ago, has seen a remarkable rise in recent years fueled by the AI craze.
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
A French prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into social platform X and its owner, Elon Musk, on accusations of “creating bias in France’s democratic debate.” The investigation comes after Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAi, deleted multiple posts from its chatbot Grok that included antisemitic comments. Among them, Grok called itself “MechaHitler” and insinuated that the Jewish people were …
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Friday hit back at a Democratic candidate running for her seat in Congress, who released an artificial intelligence (AI) generated ad taking aim at the congresswoman’s widely expected bid for New York governor. Stefanik slammed the deepfake ad as “blatantly sexist” and “deeply offensive to North Country voters,” criticizing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York state Democratic …
(NewsNation) — T-Mobile says it will eliminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs as it awaits regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for two acquisition deals. In a letter to the FCC, the wireless carrier said it would end its DEI policies “not just in name, but in substance.” “T-Mobile will no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on …
Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.
Key House Democrats are doubling down on their concerns about crypto corruption, as the lower chamber prepares to take up key digital asset legislation next week.
Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), ranking member of the panel’s digital assets subcommittee, said Friday that they will be leading Democrats in opposition to the crypto bills.
In contrast to what Republicans are calling “crypto week,” the pair announced that they will be referring to it as “anti-crypto corruption week.”
“Republicans are sending a clear message to the American people that they are unwilling to stand up to the crypto lobby, and even more disturbingly, that they are too cowardly to stand up to the President,” Waters said in a statement.
“Well, Democrats are not afraid, and will spend this week reminding the public of the true cost of this corruption,” she continued.
The House is set to take up three crypto bills next week — the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the GENIUS Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act aims to split up oversight of the crypto industry between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The GENIUS Act, which passed out of the Senate last month, would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
And the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act seeks to bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.
Plus: Bitcoin reached a new all-time on Friday, crossing $118,000 for the first time.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Former Trump NASA nominee open to running for Congress
President Trump’s former nominee to lead NASA, Jared Isaacman, said he’d be open to launching a congressional campaign after his nomination to join the second Trump administration was withdrawn. The billionaire said he’d run as a Republican and that he’d consider serving under Trump in a different capacity — or under another Republican president in the future. “I don’t think my story in politics is over,” …
The Democratic Party’s credibility with voters has plummeted even further since the 2024 election, raising alarm bells as the party looks to … Read more
Republican senators say reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth froze weapons shipments to Ukraine without getting approval from President Trump … Read more
