The action has put Representative Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on a collision course with Trump’s top AI adviser David Sacks and drawn sharp criticism from Maga-aligned supporters.
Some House Republicans have broken ranks to back the measure, raising alarms that Trump could approve sales of even more advanced chips to Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders meet in April.
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The bipartisan push marks a rare instance in Trump’s current term of Republicans breaking ranks to check the president’s power.
The AI Overwatch Act would give the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Banking Committee 30 days to review and potentially block licenses for exports to China and other US adversaries.
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