On January 13, 2026, Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, led a coalition of Republican senators in issuing a stark warning about national security risks tied to foreign access at America’s most sensitive research facilities. In a formal letter sent to Chris Wright, the secretary of the Department of Energy, the senators urged an immediate policy change to bar Chinese nationals from accessing U.S. national laboratories.
As reported by Sen. Tom Cotton’s official Senate website, the lawmakers argued that continued access for Chinese citizens—particularly amid the accelerating race for artificial intelligence dominance—poses a direct threat to American technological leadership and national defense. The letter frames the issue within the context of President Trump’s “Genesis Mission,” a sweeping AI initiative launched by executive order in November 2025 and likened by the administration to a modern-day Manhattan Project.
The senators emphasized that the Genesis Mission relies heavily on the Department of Energy’s 17 national laboratories, which conduct cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, critical minerals, and defense-related applications. According to the letter, these labs are foundational to the United States’ effort to outpace China in next-generation technologies critical to economic strength and military readiness.
Data cited by the senators shows that during fiscal year 2024, approximately 3,200 Chinese nationals were approved for access to DOE laboratory sites, information, or technologies. This figure excludes those holding lawful permanent resident status, meaning the total number of Chinese citizens working in or around U.S. labs could be significantly higher. The lawmakers contend that such access creates unacceptable vulnerabilities, especially given China’s well-documented record of intellectual property theft.
The letter argues that existing vetting procedures are insufficient for three key reasons. First, the sheer volume of foreign nationals overwhelms the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Second, affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party are often deliberately concealed, making detection difficult or impossible. Third, even researchers without formal party ties can be coerced by the Chinese regime into surrendering sensitive knowledge once they return home.
“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 CCP directly undermines the purpose of Genesis Mission,” the senators wrote. They recommended a blanket prohibition on granting Chinese nationals access to any national laboratory sites, information, or technology as the most effective safeguard.
The letter was co-signed by 11 Republican senators, including Mike Lee, James E. Risch, John Cornyn, John Barrasso, Todd Young, and Ted Budd. It was also copied to senior national security officials, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Background reporting from the White House describes the Genesis Mission as a “full-court press” to reclaim U.S. dominance in AI by integrating vast federal scientific datasets and dramatically accelerating research output. Analysts have long warned that DOE laboratories are prime espionage targets due to their mix of classified and unclassified work in energy, weapons, and advanced computing.
Supporters of the senators’ proposal point to longstanding concerns over Chinese intellectual property theft, which federal authorities estimate costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually. From talent recruitment programs to cyber espionage, China has repeatedly been accused of embedding nationals in Western institutions to extract sensitive research.
Public reaction among conservatives has been largely supportive. On X, Senator Cotton wrote that “foreign Chinese nationals shouldn’t be allowed in American labs,” while other lawmakers warned that current policies amount to inviting espionage during a critical technological arms race. As of January 26, 2026, the Department of Energy has not issued a public response.
For many conservatives, the issue is not hostility toward lawful immigration, but stewardship. Scripture teaches that leaders are accountable to protect what has been entrusted to them. Allowing adversarial regimes access to America’s most sensitive innovations, critics argue, is not openness—it is negligence at a moment when national security and technological leadership hang in the balance.
Full text of the letter:
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510January 13, 2026
The Honorable Chris Wright
Secretary, Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20024Dear Secretary Wright:
We applaud President Trump for his continued commitment to ensuring American dominance in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). America’s long-term scientific advancements and national security depend on the U.S. winning the global race for technology. The “Genesis Mission,” a modern-day Manhattan Project the President launched last November via executive order, is necessary to achieve this victory, and harnessing the deep expertise found across the Department of Energy’s seventeen national laboratories is key to Genesis Mission’s success. We are concerned, however, that the thousands of Chinese foreign nationals who are granted access to, or work at, our labs could compromise Genesis Mission, and we urge you to take the necessary steps to protect it.
China is our main competitor in the race for AI dominance, a position it occupies only because it has stolen American intellectual property and technologies and co-opted them over the years. This is widely accepted and well-documented, and yet for decades we continue to give Chinese national scientists access to our national laboratories, which employ America’s best and brightest scientists who work on critical military, economic, and scientific technologies. In fiscal year 2024, approximately 3,200 Chinese nationals were approved for access to national laboratory sites, information, or technologies. This number does not include those with lawful permanent resident status, which means there are likely hundreds, perhaps thousands, more individual Chinese citizens working in our labs.
As you may know, simply requiring these individuals to be properly vetted prior to granting them access is not a sufficient safeguard. First, the sheer number of Chinese nationals coming to the labs outpaces the capacity of the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence to vet them. Second, efforts to vet will likely fail to yield affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because of China’s efforts to obfuscate them. Lastly, scientists and researchers who might not directly work for the Chinese government can be compelled in one way or another by the regime to turn over what they have learned during their time at a national laboratory.
Genesis Mission was launched to help the U.S. win the race with China for AI supremacy by harnessing untapped prowess in this space at our national laboratories. 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 CCP directly undermines the purpose of Genesis Mission. Therefore, we respectfully recommend that you mitigate threats to Genesis Mission by promulgating a policy prohibiting the national laboratories from granting Chinese nationals access to any national laboratory site, information, or technology.
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.
Sincerely,
Tom Cotton, United States Senator
Mike Lee, United States Senator
James E. Risch, United States Senator
Jim Justice, United States Senator
John Cornyn, United States Senator
John Barrasso, United States Senator
James Lankford, United States Senator
Dave McCormick, United States Senator
Jerry Moran, United States Senator
Todd Young, United States Senator
Ted Budd, United States Senator
CC:
Director Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Rubio
Attorney General Bondi
Director Patel, Federal Bureau of Investigation
