Republican Congressman John Moolenaar urged the Trump administration to enforce a January 2025 chip manufacturer rule that requires scrutiny of advanced logic chip orders from companies that could be fronts for untrusted firms in China and other countries. In a Thursday letter to Jeffrey Kessler, who oversees export controls (restrictions on sensitive technology sales) at the Commerce Department, Moolenaar called the measure "a critical step in preventing [China] from accessing high-end U.S. chips and preserving America's technological edge." The rule followed revelations that Sophgo had chips manufactured at TSMC that were later found inside AI processors marketed by Huawei, which has been heavily sanctioned by the United States. The letter, not previously reported, adds to Republican pressure over what lawmakers see as a more lenient Trump approach to advanced chips reaching China, after the administration said it would not enforce another Biden-era chip regulation tied to the rule, while June and July criticism from Jim Banks and Bill Huizenga, and a decision allowing Nvidia to sell advanced AI chips to China, widened the dispute.