Top MAGA influencers, including Laura Loomer and David Sacks, are picking a public fight with a key GOP lawmaker over who should regulate the sale of AI chips to China.
Why it matters: Legislation from House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) isn't even out of committee. But the accusations are flying fast.
- "The AI Overwatch Act (H.R. 6875) may sound like a good idea, but when you examine it closely, it's pro-China sabotage disguised as oversight," Loomer said on X.
- "Kill the bill," she said.
Driving the news: Sacks, the president's top adviser on crypto and artificial intelligence, opened hostilities Thursday night by retweeting a post that suggested Mast's bill — the AI OVERWATCH Act — would undermine the president.
- "Correct," Sacks posted on X.
- Mast fired back: "My job is not to be a yes-man to David Sacks or for [Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang," Mast told Axios. "I will give the president the most sound advice that I can."
- "The Administration's critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors on U.S. entity lists--America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial business, supporting real jobs for real Americans," Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo told Axios.
The intrigue: The fight appears to be expanding beyond X.
- "Brian Mast appears to be positioning himself as Huawei's Employee of the Month," a close White House ally told Axios, referencing the Chinese multinational that competes with Nvidia.
- "Does he really think it's a good idea to strip President Trump of his ability to conduct foreign policy and put it in the hands of whichever party is in control of Congress?" the ally asked.
- Mast made clear he's no fan of Huawei, telling Axios the chips are inferior. He said he's the one standing up to China.
Zoom in: The most recent GOP fight over chips and AI burst into the open at a House hearing last week, where lawmakers questioned Trump's plan to allow Nvidia to sell its second-most powerful chips to China.
- "They steal so much intellectual property from this country but we don't have to sell it to them," Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said at the hearing.
Zoom out: Rules and regulations governing AI have divided the Republican Party during Trump's second term.
- Last year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pushed for a moratorium on state-level AI regulations, aiming to create a federal "sandbox" that would allow AI companies to seek temporarily relaxed rules.
- But the amendment faced opposition from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and was stripped from the budget bill by a 99–1 vote.
- Last month, Trump signed an executive order to override state AI laws, but many states have threatened to sue to block it from taking effect.
The bottom line: Mast is bracing for a long fight.
- "The industry is going to do their best to intimidate," Mast told Axios. "They don't want anything to prevent them from selling chips to China."
