• What Happened: Sen. Joni Ernst revealed that according to the Department of Energy, nationals from China, Russia, and Iran made nearly 30,000 visits to sensitive U.S. national laboratories under the Biden administration, even as those same nations actively targeted American research and technology.
  • Why It Matters: The Biden administration had previously resisted congressional efforts to restrict adversary access to the labs, arguing it would hurt nonproliferation cooperation, while Iran was openly chanting "Death to America" and China was running active espionage campaigns against U.S. research.
  • Bottom Line: Energy Secretary Chris Wright is now being credited for the transparency that exposed it. The question is how much was already stolen.

While Iran's regime led crowds in chants of "Death to America," the Biden administration was handing Iranian scientists access to sensitive U.S. national laboratories.

That's the picture emerging from a new disclosure by Sen. Joni Ernst, who revealed this week that the Department of Energy confirmed nearly 30,000 visits to sensitive U.S. labs by nationals from China, Russia, and Iran took place during the Biden years.

"While Iran's regime chanted 'Death to America,' the Biden admin rolled out the red carpet for Iranian foreign nationals and Chinese and Russian scientists to enter our National Labs and potentially steal American research," Ernst posted on X, tagging the Department of Energy and praising Energy Secretary Chris Wright for his transparency in surfacing the data.

The disclosure lands against a backdrop of documented adversary espionage at U.S. research facilities. In fiscal year 2023 alone, thousands of Chinese nationals were granted access to DOE national laboratories. The Biden administration had previously pushed back against congressional efforts to restrict that access, arguing restrictions would "severely limit" cooperation with Chinese and Russian experts on nuclear nonproliferation. Congress ultimately passed a ban on lab access for citizens of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea anyway, signing it into law at the end of the Biden administration.

The national labs at the center of this fight house some of the most sensitive research in the world, including nuclear weapons development, advanced computing, and energy technology. Human rights and security researchers have long documented Chinese talent recruitment programs specifically designed to extract that research through visiting scientists and grant recipients.

Ernst credited Secretary Wright for the transparency that made the 30,000 figure public, calling for stronger safeguards going forward. The Trump DOE has already moved to tighten restrictions under the new law.

The Biden administration called its vetting process sufficient. Nearly 30,000 adversary visits later, Congress disagreed.