Eleven US senators wrote to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tuesday seeking to ban Chinese nationals from US national labs - contending that their access undermines the United States' position in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. 

The DOE notably oversees 17 national laboratories and funds research to advance various technologies, including energy, environmental, nuclear, and others. In November, President Donald Trump ordered the DOE to launch 'Genesis Mission,' with a goal of coordinating a national effort to accelerate AI innovation "comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project."

In their letter, the Senators expressed concern over the thousands of Chinese nationals who have access to these national lab sites, which contain sensitive information and technology. In FY2024, around 3,200 Chinese nationals were approved for such access, which the lawmakers noted does not include lawful permanent residents of the United States, "which means there are likely hundreds, perhaps thousands, more individual Chinese citizens working in our labs," they wrote.

"Continuing to give access to the cutting-edge work performed at these laboratories to Chinese nationals who will turn everything they know over to the [Chinese Communist Party] directly undermines the purpose of Genesis Mission," reads the letter, which was co-signed by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).

The Senators recommend that the department implement a policy to prohibit access by Chinese nationals to national laboratory sites, information, and technology. 

As the Epoch Times notes further, underpinning the espionage concern is the fact that Beijing has passed laws to require all Chinese citizens to assist in the state’s intelligence efforts, as well as the regime’s practice of transnational repression.

Human rights organization Freedom House ranks the Chinese regime among the worst transnational repressors, using tactics such as threatening family members residing in China in order to coerce overseas Chinese to participate in state operations.

The lawmakers cite such coercion as one reason that even proper vetting of these scientists is “not a sufficient safeguard.”

Additionally, the volume of individuals outpaces the department’s capacity to vet them, and China has made efforts to obfuscate links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the lawmakers said.

“The best way to protect Genesis Mission, and the rest of the important work done throughout the labs, is to put an end to Chinese national scientists and researchers working at them,” the letter reads.

The request comes on the heels of a December House report that found the Energy Department funded research in AI, quantum, and other advanced technologies with defense applications, conducted in partnership with Chinese researchers and institutes, citing more than 4,000 research papers published between June 2023 and June 2025.

The report found that 2,000 Chinese nationals worked at national laboratories as of 2025. The lawmakers behind the report said they had interviewed department executives and found their rationale “naive.”

“Multiple DOE executives ... defended [the Chinese nationals’] continued presence ... by claiming, in effect, that we want them in our labs so they can see how advanced we are—and go back to China telling their colleagues, thus giving up on beating the United States,” the report reads.

The House Select Committee on the CCP has also published reports that show funding for Chinese defense research through grants from other government agencies, including the Pentagon.

The Department of Energy did not respond to an inquiry from The Epoch Times by the time of publication.