EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Banks ‘Very Suspicious’ Of Nvidia Opposition To Bill Restricting Chip Sales To China

Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks said in an exclusive interview with the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation that he’s “very suspicious” of Nvidia’s opposition to his bill restricting critical chip sales to China.

The GAIN AI Act, introduced by Banks, would restrict export of advanced chips to embargoed nations such as China when there is unmet demand in the U.S. Co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Dave McCormick, along with Democrat Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, and Chris Coons, the bill was passed by the Senate in October as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 and now returns to the House for reconciliation.

Nvidia has voiced public opposition to the bill, saying that the measure would restrict competition and adding that the company would “never” deprive American customers by selling their chips internationally.

“You have to ask yourself, why would Nvidia be opposed to that? I mean, it’s common sense,” Banks told the DCNF. “Their opposition makes me very suspicious.”

Advanced chips, like the ones Nvidia produces, are a critical currency in the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) race between China and the U.S. Additionally, the chips have a slew of military applications, such as in advanced intelligence analysis computers.

The GAIN AI Act aims to fulfill the massive U.S. commercial and military demand for chips before companies like Nvida exporting aboard.

Banks made the remarks at the 4th annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit, where U.S. officials such as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan delivered remarks in front of hundreds of industry leaders. To kick off the two-day event, Banks awarded the Purple Heart to former Army National Guard Specialist Robert Drudy, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq on Oct. 2, 2008.

“In trying to solve a problem that does not exist, the proposed bill would restrict competition worldwide in any industry that uses mainstream computing chips,” an Nvidia spokesperson previously said regarding the GAIN AI Act in September.

Banks told the DCNF that he’s seeing “growing support” for the bill as the measure passed in the Senate, but it remains unclear whether it will pass in the House’s version of the NDAA.

“When I see that Nvidia is spending literally millions of dollars in Washington, D.C. to try to lobby against the legislation, it concerns me that they would be against it,” Banks told the DCNF.

Some Republicans have vocally opposed the bill as well, including White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, who urged senate Republicans to not use the NDAA as a means to pass the legislation.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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