Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking the Trump administration and the FBI to brief lawmakers on what they describe as evidence of foreign influence campaigns aimed at slowing U.S. artificial intelligence development and the construction of data centers needed to support the technology.
In a letter sent Thursday to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology co-chairs David Sacks and Michael Kratsios — as well as FBI Director Kash Patel — committee Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and other panel leaders cited reports alleging that foreign actors, including entities linked to China, are working to shape public opinion and policy surrounding AI infrastructure.
The lawmakers said investigations by the Bitcoin Policy Institute and the advocacy group Power the Future found evidence of coordinated efforts to impede U.S. AI growth and the development of data centers.
According to the letter, those efforts include campaigns carried out through foreign state media, nonprofit networks, and funding sources that seek to influence public debate over AI-related projects.
The committee leaders wrote that the United States “cannot afford to ignore the risks posed by our geopolitical adversaries’ efforts to undermine U.S. global leadership” in artificial intelligence and requested information about steps the administration is taking to investigate alleged foreign influence operations, as well as what they described as “billionaire-backed activism” targeting AI development.
The letter also points to activist campaigns that have opposed data center projects through environmental litigation and other efforts that lawmakers said have delayed infrastructure construction.
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