House Chairmen Seek FBI Briefing on Foreign Influence Claims Targeting AI Data Centers

The lawmakers cited reports alleging China-linked efforts to slow U.S. AI infrastructure, while local opposition has focused on power, water, and costs.

An Amazon Web Services data center near single-family homes in Stone Ridge, Va., on July 17, 2024. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Three House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have asked senior White House science advisers and the FBI to brief Congress on allegations that foreign adversaries, including China-linked actors, are trying to slow the buildout of U.S. artificial intelligence data centers.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman John Joyce (R-Pa.), and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) sent the June 4 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel as well as David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, co-chairmen of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.