Pols Warn White House: China Fueling Anti-AI Data Center Protests
Republican lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to investigate alleged Chinese funding of anti-data center campaigns aimed at undermining U.S. artificial intelligence leadership.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee issued a stark warning on Thursday, calling on the Trump administration to intensify scrutiny of potential links between Chinese interests and domestic opposition to AI infrastructure development.
Brett Guthrie, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, emphasized the gravity of the situation. The Kentucky congressman noted that America finds itself locked in a critical technology race with China over AI development, and foreign interference in domestic infrastructure decisions reveals just how fierce that competition has become.
The committee leadership, including John Joyce, chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations, and Bob Latta, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, pointed to recent research from the Bitcoin Policy Institute and Power the Future as the basis for their concerns.
The Bitcoin Policy Institute study concluded that international actors are operating through state media organizations, nonprofit networks, and dark money groups to manipulate American policy and public sentiment regarding artificial intelligence, as New York Post reports.
A key figure identified in the influence network is Neville Roy Singham, an American expatriate based in Shanghai who is married to Code Pink founder Jodie Evans. Singham has previously attracted government attention for activities considered hostile to American interests, and congressional Republicans have maintained investigations into his influence operations within the United States.
Analysis cited by the Bitcoin Policy Institute reveals that Singham distributed approximately $278 million across six American nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2023.
Trump Administration Pressed for Action
The Energy and Commerce Committee has sent formal correspondence to President Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, demanding information about foreign campaigns designed to undermine American AI development.
Guthrie told New York Post that Americans have a right to know who is financing disinformation efforts aimed at blocking essential infrastructure investments. He stressed that data centers represent the fundamental computing infrastructure that enables modern society to function.
The Republican legislators specifically highlighted legislation introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that would impose a nationwide moratorium on data center construction or renovation.
Cabinet Officials Sound the Alarm
Several Trump administration officials have publicly voiced concerns about Chinese involvement in stoking anti-AI sentiment across America.
Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior, stated last month that any location attempting to build data centers faces bombardment from foreign-directed propaganda designed to obstruct construction, characterizing it as an assault on American competitiveness.
Data centers supply the essential processing capacity required to handle the enormous data volumes necessary for training and operating AI models. While activists have attacked the proliferation of data centers due to their substantial energy consumption and potential impact on electricity costs, AI specialists maintain that without this infrastructure, the United States cannot advance the emerging technology.
Public Support Eroding
Polling data reveals a dramatic collapse in public backing for data center development. In Virginia, support for new data center construction plummeted from 69 percent in 2023 to just 35 percent in April of this year, according to a Washington Post-Schar School survey.
The lawmakers contend the issue demands federal investigation and have requested a briefing from the Trump administration by June 18 detailing actions being implemented to counter foreign influence operations targeting domestic AI development.
In their letter, the Republican committee leaders stressed that America is engaged in a global competition for technological dominance with dramatically elevated stakes for economic prosperity and national security should the nation fall behind. They insisted the administration must treat any effort to undermine this objective, particularly from foreign adversaries, with utmost seriousness.
With information from New York Post
