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Senators Urge Trump to Block Chinese, Russian Intelligence Aid

8/26/2026

39 8 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Senators Ron Wyden and John Cornyn urged President Donald Trump’s administration to bar aid to Chinese and Russian civilian intelligence.
They mailed the letter to Secretary Howard Lutnick on August 25, 2026.
The letter says foreign agencies can legally hire U.S. consultants and buy U.S. surveillance, cyber and AI tech.
Rep. John Moolenaar urged blocking advanced logic chips from untrusted Chinese firms after Nvidia’s AI-chip sale approval.

History

Historical Context

After the August 2018 NDAA barred Huawei and ZTE from U.S. federal networks, the Commerce Department placed Huawei and 70 subsidiaries on the Entity List on 15 May 2019, cutting about $1.5 billion in projected U.S. chip sales and prompting Qualcomm and Intel to end contracts. Senators Ron Wyden and John Cornyn now seek similar AI and semiconductor bans on Chinese and Russian intelligence, echoing the 2019 disruption.

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Story summary

Senators Ron Wyden and John Cornyn urged President Donald Trump’s administration to bar aid to Chinese and Russian civilian intelligence.
They mailed the letter to Secretary Howard Lutnick on August 25, 2026.
The letter says foreign agencies can legally hire U.S. consultants and buy U.S. surveillance, cyber and AI tech.
Rep. John Moolenaar urged blocking advanced logic chips from untrusted Chinese firms after Nvidia’s AI-chip sale approval.

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