New Senate Class Brings China Scrutiny—and Fault Lines on AI, Trade

The newly elected U.S. senators from both major parties will bring a range of China-related positions to Capitol Hill, with priorities spanning restrictions on advanced technology, support for Taiwan, and efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains.

Differences in their views on how Washington should compete with Beijing include, in particular, tariffs and whether the United States should slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence, even if China continues.

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and the incoming Senate class includes House members with years of China-related legislative records, as well as first-time federal lawmakers whose positions emerged mainly during the campaign.

Two Senate contests—in Alaska and Mississippi—remained uncalled as of Nov. 6. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom held a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, with thousands of provisional ballots awaiting resolution.

Taiwan Draws Support From Both Parties

Some of the clearest positions come from lawmakers moving from the House to the Senate.

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Sen.-elect Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) has also pursued Taiwan legislation. In May 2025, he joined Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) in introducing the Taiwan Representative Office Act, which would direct the State Department to negotiate changing the name of Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington to the Taiwan Representative Office.

The name change legislation would not establish formal diplomatic relations or alter the U.S. position on Taiwan’s international status.

Juliana Stratton, the Democratic senator-elect from Illinois, said during the campaign that Washington should bolster ties with Taiwan, support its self-defense capabilities, and help secure semiconductor supply chains.

At the same time, she criticized President Donald Trump’s broad tariff approach toward China and called instead for investments in American infrastructure, advanced technology, and workers.

Annie Andrews, the Democratic senator-elect from South Carolina, told CNN in August that she considered China “an existential threat” and described Taiwan as “a courageous democracy.” Unlike Barr and Pappas, Andrews has no prior congressional voting record.

Technology and Supply Chains

Technology restrictions also draw support across party lines.

James Talarico, the Democratic senator-elect from Texas, says his Senate priorities include legislation to strengthen export controls and prevent advanced AI chips from reaching U.S. adversaries. His campaign platform also calls for investment in science and technology education and stronger protections against AI-related threats to American workers.

On the Republican side, Oklahoma Sen.-elect Kevin Hern introduced the Countering Communist China Act in February 2024 while serving in the House and as chairman of the Republican Study Committee. The legislation proposed restrictions involving Chinese investment, sensitive technologies, supply chains, and Chinese Communist Party influence in American institutions.

Wyoming Sen.-elect Harriet Hageman, a Republican, has focused heavily on critical minerals and domestic mining.

“Dependency is vulnerability. That changes today,” Hageman said.

In February 2026, she supported the House-passed Critical Mineral Dominance Act, which sought to streamline permitting for domestic mineral production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.

Pappas, meanwhile, became the first House Democrat to co-sponsor the SECURE Minerals Act in February. The bipartisan legislation proposed a $2.5 billion strategic reserve intended to reduce U.S. dependence on China for critical minerals and strengthen domestic supply chains.

Wider Divide on AI

Artificial intelligence has produced one of the sharper differences among the incoming lawmakers.

Michigan Democratic Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed’s AI platform calls for controls on advanced computing, identity-verification requirements for computing providers, independent safety testing, and international cooperation.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” conducted Oct. 22 and broadcast Nov. 1, El-Sayed called for a “full-on pause” in frontier AI development—the work on the most advanced AI systems.

In an extended version of the interview released afterward, CBS interviewer Ross Douthat asked what would happen if Washington paused development while Beijing continued.

El-Sayed said he did not take that concern as seriously as some others, arguing that much of China’s progress involved reproducing American technology. He also advocated an international agreement involving China to limit the risks of advanced AI.

Kansas Democratic Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton took a different approach during a Sept. 12 Senate debate with Republican incumbent Roger Marshall.

Hamilton also called AI a serious potential threat and said safeguards were needed, but argued that the United States could not stop developing the technology while competitors continued.

“Russians and China, the Chinese are going to be working on this,” Hamilton said. “As Americans, we have to do the same.”

Hamilton added that the United States must continue its work on AI while establishing appropriate safeguards.