“Trump is the very first president who has negotiated away our export controls, our national security, to the Chinese. Put simply, Trump is handing China the technology it needs to win the AI race. … If [Thune] would put them on the floor today, we can pass them. Period.
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As Xi Jinping Arrives for a State Visit, Senate Democrats Demand Votes on Three Bipartisan Bills to Keep America's AI Chips Out of China — Chuck Schumer Says "Trump Is Handing China the Technology It Needs to Win the AI Race," Elizabeth Warren Says Jensen Huang "Should Be Nowhere Near the Negotiating Table," and the White House Says It Has "the Most Rigorous Export Control Regime in Modern History"
September 23, 2026
On September 23, 2026 — the day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first U.S. state visit since 2015 — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Andy Kim and Elissa Slotkin called on Majority Leader John Thune to bring three bipartisan chip export-control bills to the floor: Sen. Jim Banks's AI OVERWATCH Act, which would write Trump's ban on sales of the most powerful AI chips to adversaries into law for 18 months and require licenses for "countries of concern"; the MATCH Act from Sens. Pete Ricketts and Schumer, which would align controls on chipmaking equipment with allied suppliers; and Sen. Tom Cotton's Chip Security Act, which would require location tracking on advanced chips. All three passed House Foreign Affairs by wide margins and were folded into the Senate NDAA manager's amendment, but the defense bill has been stalled since Senate Democrats blocked it in July over the Iran war and the Pentagon topline. Democrats pointed to Trump's earlier decision to let Nvidia sell H200 chips to China and to reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would attend the state dinner. The White House answered that the administration has "the most rigorous export control regime in modern history." Days earlier, Republican Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz had said Huang's argument against tight controls was "not a frivolous argument," while Democrats Mark Warner and Chris Coons questioned it.
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“We certainly should not be letting tech billionaires like Nvidia's Jensen Huang negotiate away our export controls or decide our AI policy to benefit his own personal bottom line. Mr. Huang should be nowhere near the negotiating table during President Xi's visit.
“If constantly the president is going to talk about this rivalry with China, he can't in the same breath hand them our most sophisticated chips.
“This is not some idea that we have. It is actual legislation that we have ready to go.
“The Trump administration has implemented the most rigorous export control regime in modern history, and remains committed to America's national and economic security.
“China is accelerating its drive for AI dominance by exploiting weaknesses in the administration's export controls to access advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. [Joint statement with Schumer, Murray, Reed, Shaheen, Warner, Warren and Kim ahead of Xi's state visit.]
“What Jensen argues is that the threat of China is greater if they have to develop their own chips, and that's not a frivolous argument. … I think we need to have meaningful export controls, but where the line should be is a complicated judgment call.
“Jensen makes an argument — I'm not sure I fully buy it — that as long as the world is relying on Nvidia chips, that's a good thing.