[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 209 (Thursday, December 11, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8657-S8658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 China

  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, on Monday, President Donald Trump 
announced he will green light NVIDIA selling H200 chips to China.
  Now, these are advanced chips that the Chinese military has been 
after for years. Trump's own Department of Justice has called them 
``the building blocks of AI superiority.''
  Just hours before Trump's announcement, the Department of Justice 
announced a crackdown on a sophisticated trafficking network that 
allegedly smuggled $50 million worth of these chips to China.
  Why? Because they know that China is gaining access to these chips, 
and that poses a serious threat to our technological leadership and 
national security.
  So why did the President make this bad deal that sells out the 
American economy and sells out American national security? It is 
simple. In the Trump administration, money talks. And NVIDIA's CEO, 
Jensen Huang, knows it. Mr. Huang understands that, in this 
administration, being able to cozy up to Donald Trump might be the most 
important corporate CEO skill of all. Mr. Huang paid a million-dollar-
a-plate dinner to be with the President. Mr. Huang's company has 
donated to the President's ballroom.
  And Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's former company, now run by 
his son, stands to make loads of money if NVIDIA's stock surges.
  Those are just the most obvious possible reasons to cut this deal, 
and who knows what else Mr. Huang might have done behind closed doors 
to persuade President Trump and Secretary Lutnick into making this 
dangerous concession.
  The American public deserves answers. Mr. Huang should be brought in 
front of Congress to testify under oath, and he should be joined by 
Secretary Lutnick and every other Trump administration official 
involved in this decision.
  Congress does not need to stand by helplessly. Both Republicans and 
Democrats understand the risks here, and we should pass bipartisan 
legislation that reins in this administration as soon as possible.
  The Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National AI act--called 
the GAIN Act--that Senator Banks and I introduced would prohibit NVIDIA 
from shipping advanced chips to China while American universities, 
American startups, and American small businesses are waiting in line to 
buy the company's chips.
  Senator Ricketts and Senator Coons have introduced another bill that 
Senator Banks and I support. It is called the SAFE Chips Act, and it 
would prohibit the President from green-lighting advanced AI chip sales 
to China.
  Republicans and Democrats have legislation ready to go, and we should 
get this done before it is too late. Senator Thune should schedule 
either or both bills for a vote immediately.
  Here is another thing that Democrats and Republicans in Congress need 
to keep an eye on:
  Will Donald Trump muzzle his own Justice Department because he does 
not want Americans to know that he is selling out our national 
security?
  Will Donald Trump order the Assistant Attorney General for National 
Security and the U.S. attorney for the

[[Page S8658]]

Southern District of Texas to dismiss the criminal cases that they just 
announced this week as part of the crackdown on chip smuggling?
  Will Donald Trump fire those Justice Department officials for 
exposing the national security risks of the deal that Donald Trump just 
cut?
  Will Donald Trump tell his Attorney General to drop all 
investigations into these national security concerns and turn a blind 
eye to how the Chinese military could use these chips to train weapon 
systems that could endanger American lives?
  I am deeply concerned that Donald Trump will target the work at the 
Department of Justice in a cynical attempt to hide the truth from the 
American people.
  And in case Donald Trump directs his Department of Justice to take 
down the public evidence or to cover it up, I am going to read into the 
Senate Record exactly how senior law enforcement officials warned about 
the dangers of allowing these chips to power the development of 
cutting-edge technology in China.
  Here is what the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas had 
to say, and I am going to quote this:

       Operation Gatekeeper has exposed a sophisticated smuggling 
     network that threatens our Nation's security by funneling 
     cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against 
     American interests.
       These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and 
     are integral to modern military application.
       The country that controls these chips will control AI 
     technology. The country that controls AI technology will 
     control the future.
       The Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute 
     anyone who attempts to compromise America's technological 
     edge.

  That is what the U.S. attorney--Donald Trump's own U.S. attorney for 
the Southern District of Texas--had to say about the chips that NVIDIA 
has just been permitted by Donald Trump to put into the hands of the 
Chinese.
  And here is what the Assistant Attorney General for National Security 
at Trump's Department of Justice had to say--again, Trump's own 
Assistant Attorney General for National Security:

       The United States has long emphasized the importance of 
     innovation and is responsible for an incredible amount of 
     cutting-edge technology, such as the advanced computer chips 
     that make modern AI possible.
       This advantage isn't free but rather the result of our 
     engineers' and scientists' hard work and sacrifice.
       The National Security Division, along with our partners, 
     will vigorously enforce our export-control laws and protect 
     this edge.

  The President's most basic duty is to protect the economic and 
national security of the American people. And, instead, President Trump 
is bowing to foreign dictators like Xi Jinping and selling out our 
national security to billionaire corporate interests that pay for 
special White House dinners and a gold-plated ballroom.
  Never before has a President and a tech CEO so brazenly conspired 
against the interests of the American people. Congress has a 
responsibility to stop it and stop it now.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.