Two senior Republican senators have called on the Trump administration to restrict Chinese nationals from accessing America's national laboratories, warning that the current practice leaves sensitive research and cutting-edge technologies vulnerable to exploitation by Beijing. The appeal, made in a formal letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, comes amid intensifying scrutiny of technology security at some of the United States' most strategically important scientific institutions.

What the Data Shows

Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Lee of Utah cited Department of Energy (DOE) figures showing approximately 1,900 short-term visits by Chinese nationals in fiscal year 2025, alongside roughly 1,300 long-term research assignments and about 2,100 formal employment positions. Chinese nationals also physically or remotely accessed national laboratory user facilities more than 5,000 times during the same period.

'These numbers are not small, nor are they incidental,' the senators wrote. 'They represent a systemic exposure of our National Labs, including the American scientists who work there and topics they are working on, to an adversary determined to defeat the United States.'

Core Security Concerns

Cotton and Lee argued that China's National Intelligence Law — which reportedly requires Chinese citizens to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services when called upon — creates an inherent conflict of interest for Chinese nationals embedded within US research facilities. They questioned whether the DOE's existing security framework adequately accounts for that legal obligation.

The senators also sought clarity on whether Chinese nationals are permitted access to controlled or export-controlled technologies within the laboratory system, and what counter-intelligence assessments have been conducted regarding concentrations of Chinese researchers at specific facilities.

'China is our main competitor in research and development and the race for emerging tech, where it seeks to surpass the United States by stealing American intellectual property and technologies,' they wrote. 'This is widely known and well-documented, and yet for decades we continue to give Chinese national scientists access to our National Laboratories.'

Legislative Background

The letter is not the senators' first move on this front. In January 2025, Cotton, Lee, and nine other senators sent an earlier appeal to the department on the same issue. In March 2025, the two lawmakers introduced the Guarding American Technology from Exploitation (GATE) Act, which would formally restrict access by nationals from adversarial countries to DOE laboratories. That legislation remains under consideration.

What Is at Stake

America's network of national laboratories conducts research spanning artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy systems, materials science, and nuclear security — areas central to both economic competitiveness and defence readiness. The senators concluded that the DOE's mission to protect national security 'can't be achieved when it's undermined by thousands of Chinese nationals infiltrating the National Labs each year.'

The DOE has not publicly responded to the latest letter. How the Trump administration acts on the senators' demands could set a significant precedent for how the United States manages scientific openness against national security imperatives in the years ahead.