Washington remains deeply divided over AI once again. At the heart of this dispute lies the issue of AI chip exports. Last month, Trump finally approved Nvidia’s sale of its H200 chips to China. Although these chips are less advanced than Nvidia’s latest American models, they are still sophisticated enough to be utilized in American industries and are notably superior to the previously allowed China-specific H20 chips, which had upset Beijing. Some considered this move a win-win situation. The U. S. government would receive 25% of Nvidia’s sales in China, Chinese AI companies would access better chips than before, and Nvidia could finally boost sales in one of its largest markets. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang devoted much of his recent public efforts to persuading government officials to support the deal. While some in Washington feared that sending Nvidia chips to fuel Chinese AI development would cause the U. S. to lose the AI race and threaten national security, Huang argued the opposite. He asserted that as long as the Chinese AI sector relies on Nvidia’s infrastructure, the U. S.

will maintain its competitive edge. Although Huang appeared to win over some, including Trump and his AI Czar David Sacks, Congress remains skeptical and insists on having a say. “Should Congress have oversight when selling missiles to other countries?Yes, the same should apply to chips, ” said Republican Florida Rep. Brian Mast during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week. “Nvidia has created such advanced chips that if sold freely to the CCP, they could likely surpass us in the AI arms race, ” Mast, who also chairs the committee, added. “These chips aren’t for kids playing video games on Xbox; they impact real warfare, real weapons, and real military power, and will contribute to actual casualties. ” Following Trump’s H200 approval, Mast introduced the AI Overwatch Act last month. This legislation would grant the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Banking Committee authority to block export licenses for AI chips to China and other adversarial nations. On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance the bill, which now awaits a full House vote. Despite strong committee support, its passage through Congress is uncertain. Similar past efforts to restrict chip exports, such as the GAIN AI Act, failed and drew significant criticism from Nvidia. Notably, the bill is causing divisions not only across Washington but also within the MAGA movement. Even though Mast is firmly aligned with Trump, other prominent MAGA figures, including Trump’s AI Czar David Sacks, have expressed strong opposition. Last week, Sacks confirmed a post on X claiming the AI Overwatch Act aims to “strip President Trump of his authority as Commander in Chief and undermine his America First strategy. ” The post further alleged the bill was secretly driven by “Never Trumpers, Obama/Biden former staffers, ” and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer also condemned the bill on X, labeling it “pro-China sabotage disguised as oversight. ” Mast responded by accusing Loomer of parroting “NVIDIA’s lobbying talking points to sell chips to China. ” In contrast, Anthropic CEO Amodei openly disagrees with Nvidia, calling the idea of allowing Nvidia chips into China “crazy” and “a mistake. ” “It’s like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea and then boasting that Boeing made the casings, ” Amodei told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, according to TechCrunch.