Senior House Republicans have sent a formal letter to the White House warning that China and other foreign adversaries may be covertly bankrolling grassroots opposition to artificial intelligence data centers across the United States, a campaign they argue threatens the country’s ability to compete in the global AI race. The letter, first reported by the New York Post, adds a provocative new dimension to the already fraught US-China tech war and raises uncomfortable questions about the integrity of domestic policy debates surrounding AI infrastructure.
Republican Lawmakers Escalate Warnings to White House
The letter was addressed to Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (CAST) and the FBI and signed by three senior Republican lawmakers: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman John Joyce (R-PA), and Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH). Together, they represent the most senior Republican oversight voice on energy and technology policy in the lower chamber.
The legislators stated that available evidence “strongly suggests” China and other foreign adversaries are actively fueling campaigns opposing the construction of data centers in the United States. They requested a formal intelligence briefing no later than June 18, signaling both the urgency they attach to the issue and their intent to escalate it through official channels if answers are not forthcoming.
The move follows a pattern of heightened Congressional scrutiny over Chinese influence operations targeting critical technology policy. Earlier this year, federal authorities exposed a $2.67 billion AI chip smuggling network, underscoring how multifaceted Chinese efforts to shape America’s AI landscape have become, from illicit hardware acquisition at one end to potentially shaping public opinion at the other.
A Money Trail Through Nonprofits and Dark Money Networks
At the center of the lawmakers’ concerns is a study published by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), which concluded that “international actors are working through state media organizations, nonprofit networks, and dark money groups to shape US policy and public opinion on artificial intelligence.”
The most specific figure cited in the letter is Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American expatriate who, according to the BPI study, funneled approximately $278 million across six US nonprofits between 2017 and 2023. Singham is married to Jodie Evans, co-founder of the anti-war organization Code Pink, which has previously attracted scrutiny for its proximity to Chinese government-aligned positions. The scale of the alleged funding, nearly $280 million over six years, suggests a systematic effort rather than opportunistic influence peddling.
The framework described by the BPI closely resembles documented playbooks used by foreign state actors in other policy domains: using multiple layers of intermediary organizations to make funding difficult to trace and lending a veneer of organic civic activism to what are, allegedly, directed influence campaigns. The specific targeting of data center opposition is strategically significant. If the US is slowed in building AI compute infrastructure, the competitive gap with China narrows — or, from Beijing’s perspective, widens in China’s favor.
Public Opinion Has Shifted Dramatically
Perhaps the most striking data point in the lawmakers’ letter is a polling shift that is difficult to explain through organic opinion change alone. A Washington Post–Schar School poll found that public support for new data center construction in Virginia, one of the most data center-dense regions in the world, collapsed from 69% in 2023 to just 35% by April 2026. That is a 34-percentage-point drop in roughly three years, a movement of public opinion that would be extraordinary under any circumstances.
Virginia’s data center corridor in Northern Virginia is among the most strategically important concentrations of digital infrastructure anywhere on the planet, hosting facilities for major cloud providers, government contractors, and AI companies. A sustained erosion of public support there could translate directly into permit denials, zoning restrictions, and legislative barriers that no amount of corporate lobbying could easily overcome.
The political landscape has also provided cover for opposition. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which would halt the construction of new data centers. While that legislation reflects genuine domestic concerns about energy consumption and community impact, the lawmakers who signed the letter appear to argue that those legitimate concerns are being deliberately amplified and weaponized by foreign-linked networks.
Cabinet Officials and the President Weigh In
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a vocal advocate for American energy and AI infrastructure development, offered the most direct framing of the threat. “Any place that’s trying to build data centers is getting bombarded with foreign-directed propaganda to try to block these from being built,” Burgum said. His comments reflect a growing conviction within parts of the Trump administration that the data center permitting fight is not merely a domestic regulatory dispute but an active front in geopolitical competition.
President Trump’s response was characteristically ambiguous. Asked about the allegations, he said: “We had a great meeting with China, and you know they do things to us and we do things to them. I say it all the time.” The comment came weeks after Trump visited Beijing and met with President Xi Jinping — a summit that produced no formal AI agreement despite considerable anticipation that the two sides might establish guardrails on AI development or infrastructure competition.
The lack of a diplomatic resolution means the underlying tension continues to play out across multiple theaters simultaneously. While trade negotiators navigate tariff disputes and AI researchers debate model benchmarks, a quieter battle over physical infrastructure and public consent may be unfolding in town halls and zoning board meetings across the United States.
Strategic Context: Infrastructure as the New Battleground
The allegations fit into a broader strategic picture that analysts covering the US-China AI rivalry have been documenting with increasing urgency. China is simultaneously accelerating its own data center buildout and developing domestic chip alternatives to reduce dependence on restricted American technology. If those efforts succeed while American infrastructure expansion stalls due to community opposition — whether organic or manufactured, the balance of AI compute power could shift materially within the decade.
The 9th Digital China Summit held in Fuzhou earlier this year made clear that Beijing views digital infrastructure as a core national priority through 2030, with a comprehensive plan spanning AI, compute, and data governance. Against that backdrop, any slowdown in American data center construction carries compounding strategic costs.
Whether the FBI and CAST respond to the June 18 deadline with substantive intelligence, and whether that intelligence is made public, will determine how this story develops. For now, the letter itself has reframed what many assumed was a domestic infrastructure debate as a potential front line in the contest for global AI supremacy.