In Responses to Warren, Trump CYBERCOM and NSA Nominee Warns About China Seeking Advanced American AI Chips

In Responses to Warren, Trump CYBERCOM and NSA Nominee Warns About China Seeking Advanced American AI Chips

LTC Rudd: "I agree that China is aggressively seeking to acquire advanced AI chips to accelerate its development of AI-enhanced weapons."

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and a Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement on LTG Joshua Rudd, Donald Trump's nominee to head U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, who confirmed that China is seeking to acquire advanced AI chips to accelerate its development of AI-enhanced weapons.

"A senior military officer nominated by President Trump is warning that China is aggressively seeking to acquire advanced AI chips to accelerate its development of AI-enhanced weapons," said Ranking Member Warren. "This Administration has failed to take these risks seriously. I will keep working with my colleagues to pass bipartisan legislation to protect U.S. economic and national security."

Sen. Warren has a record of pressing the Trump Administration to protect U.S. economic and national security by strengthening export controls on advanced technologies.

• Ahead of his confirmation hearing last year, Warren and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Howard Lutnick laying out specific steps he should take, if confirmed as Commerce Secretary, to strengthen export controls, including fortifying the AI diffusion rule, restricting H20 and equivalent chips, and clamping down on chip smuggling.
• Last November, Warren introduced the bipartisan GAIN AI Act with Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), legislation that would require companies to give American businesses first priority in acquiring advanced AI chips before exporting these chips to China and other countries of concern. The original amendment passed the Senate on October 9 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
• Warren and Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the BHUA Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, also called on Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick not to greenlight the export of NVIDIA's powerful H200 AI chips to China.
• Last December, Warren and six of her Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raising concerns over the Trump Administration's decision to disregard warnings from its own Department of Justice (DOJ) and allow NVIDIA to export its advanced H200 AI chips to China.
• After resistance from the Trump Administration, Warren and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY-05) announced they invoked power under ECRA statute to require Trump Admin to turn over information on its decision to greenlight the sale of H200 Chips to China. The lawmakers underscored that the requested information was essential given the significant national security implications of allowing the sale of advanced chips to China.

Find below LTC Rudd's responses to the Ranking Members questions on artificial intelligence:

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, do you agree that advanced AI chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and are integral to modern military applications?

Yes, I agree that advanced AI chips form the foundational building blocks for achieving AI superiority, enabling rapid data processing, superior decision-making, and enhanced predictive capabilities essential to our national security. These chips are integral to modern military applications, from powering next-generation unmanned systems and cyber defense networks to optimizing logistics and intelligence analysis on the battlefield.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, does DOD innovation and lethality suffer if DOD and companies that supply DOD weapon systems have to wait weeks or months to get the latest AI chips?

Delays of weeks or months in procuring the latest AI chips would undoubtedly impair Department innovation and lethality by stalling the integration of cutting-edge AI into our weapon systems, from autonomous drones to real-time cyber threat detection platforms. Such bottlenecks create vulnerabilities, allowing the possibility for adversaries to outpace us in deployment speed and technological adaptation, ultimately compromising mission effectiveness and operational readiness.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, does it impair DOD's ability to field the latest innovations in warfighting if semiconductor firms prioritize their access to China's market over supplying U.S. firms, national labs, and startups?

Such a scenario could impair military procurement, but I am not aware of this occurring.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, do you agree that China is seeking to acquire advanced AI chips that could accelerate "its efforts to build A.I.-enhanced weapons that could someday be deployed against American soldiers"?

I agree that China is aggressively seeking to acquire advanced AI chips to accelerate its development of AI-enhanced weapons. If confirmed, I will continue to move USCYBERCOM forward to meet this challenge.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, the Trump administration is set to greenlight sales of Nvidia's H200s to China, chips that its own Department of Justice called "integral to modern military applications." Do you believe it is a vulnerability to U.S. national security and the military's readiness and lethality that China has access to these AI chips?

The pace in which American AI chips are being designed means that it is imperative that we keep pace with industry. If confirmed, I will continue to partner with our American chip manufactures.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, how does competition in the technology sector affect the success of DOD's cyber acquisitions, and in turn the success of DOD's cyberspace strategy?

Robust competition in the technology sector drives innovation, cost efficiencies, and rapid advancements in cybersecurity tools, directly enhancing the success of the Department's cyber acquisitions by ensuring we procure cutting-edge, adaptable solutions for threat detection and defense. This competitive dynamic strengthens our overall cyberspace strategy, enabling faster adaptation to evolving threats from adversaries and maintaining operational superiority in digital domains. To maximize these benefits, the Department should foster policies that promote domestic tech competition while mitigating risks from over-reliance on foreign suppliers.

1. Lieutenant General Rudd, does DOD's cyber program benefit from competition in the technology space?

The Department's cyber program benefits from competition in the technology space, as it spurs innovation in defensive tools, encryption protocols, and threat intelligence systems, leading to more resilient and agile cyber defenses.

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet