Warren to call for reversal of Trump’s UAE chip sales after ‘Spy Sheikh’ revelations

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will ask the Senate on Thursday to condemn and call for the reversal of the sale of 500,000 advanced artificial intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates.

Warren’s resolution, shared exclusively with CNBC, comes after a report in The Wall Street Journal last week that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, also known as the “Spy Sheikh,” purchased a secret 49% stake in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The stake reportedly saw roughly $187 million flow to Trump family entities.

The chip deal came just months after Tahnoon’s purchase in World Liberty Financial, prompting allegations of bribery. Prior U.S. administrations have warned against selling chips to the UAE, citing concern that they will fall into the hands of China. Tahnoon’s own AI enterprise, G42, will receive chips as part of the deal.

“Why in the world was Donald Trump trying to ship off our state-of-the-art chips to the UAE — and China — when American startups, universities, and small businesses need them here at home?” Warren is expected to ask on the floor when she introduces her resolution. A draft of it has been viewed by CNBC. “Well, now we know that the UAE greased the skids months earlier when it secretly agreed to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a Trump family crypto venture just four days before President Trump’s inauguration.”

If agreed to on the Senate floor, the resolution would resolve that the Senate “Condemns Donald Trump’s decision to allow the sale of advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates and calls for the reversal of this decision.”

The chip deal would send 500,000 of Nvidia’s chips to the UAE annually, including the most advanced silicon the U.S. company makes. The U.S. is battling with China over AI dominance, and tightly guards its technology.

Warren’s push for a vote on the resolution is likely to be blocked on the Senate floor, where any senator could object to the measure. But it could put Republicans — who have also warned about AI chips reaching China — in a difficult spot.

“Trump is profiting from decisions that make it easier for countries like China to get their hands on some of our most sensitive and advanced technology,” Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to say.

“Congress needs to grow a spine. We cannot allow American national security to be sold to the highest bidder,” she’s expected to add.

The Trump administration has denied wrongdoing related to Tahnoon’s purchase and the chip deal.

Trump, asked about the deal this week, said: “Well, I don’t know about it.”