Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, is making his first major legislative push on national security grounds: a bill to ban Chinese-made electric vehicles from the U.S. market. The senator frames the issue as a direct threat, calling Chinese EVs a “Trojan horse” that carries the risk of roaming surveillance on American roads.

According to a summary of his announcement, Moreno argues that the same connectivity that makes EVs attractive — always-on internet, GPS tracking, onboard cameras and microphones — could be exploited by the Chinese government to monitor U.S. citizens and infrastructure. The bill would effectively bar vehicles manufactured in China, or those built using Chinese components that meet certain thresholds, from being sold or operated in the United States.

The timing is deliberate. China’s EV industry has exploded in recent years, with brands like BYD, Nio, and Xpeng expanding aggressively into Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The U.S. market has remained largely closed to them, partly due to the 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs enacted under the Trump administration and maintained by the Biden White House. But Moreno’s bill goes further, seeking a statutory ban that would be harder for future administrations to reverse.

Moreno’s argument taps into a broader bipartisan concern in Washington about the national security implications of Chinese technology. Lawmakers have already targeted TikTok, Huawei, and DJI on similar grounds. EVs represent a new frontier: a battery-powered computer on wheels, constantly sending and receiving data. If that data pipeline runs back to Beijing, the senator warns, it could be used for espionage, location tracking, or even remote disablement of vehicles in a crisis.

“This isn’t about trade policy — it’s about protecting Americans from a surveillance state that wants to follow them wherever they go,” Moreno said in a statement, according to the briefing. The senator, who previously ran a car dealership chain in Ohio before his election in 2024, has positioned himself as an advocate for domestic auto manufacturing. He argues that barring Chinese EVs would not only protect national security but also bolster U.S. automakers and battery supply chains.

Critics of the bill, including some free-trade Republicans and auto industry groups, argue that a flat ban would invite retaliation from Beijing and disrupt global supply chains that already rely on Chinese components. They also note that many EVs sold in the U.S. — including Fords and Chevrolets — use batteries and parts sourced from China. Moreno’s office has not yet released the full text of the bill, so the precise definition of “Chinese-made” remains unclear.

The bill faces long odds in a divided Congress, where even popular national security measures can stall amid procedural fights. Still, the proposal signals a growing appetite among lawmakers to treat Chinese EVs as a distinct threat rather than just another trade issue. The Commerce Department is already conducting a separate rulemaking that could restrict connected vehicle software and hardware from China, and the Biden administration has proposed steep tariffs that would effectively price out Chinese brands. Moreno’s bill would make those restrictions permanent and explicit.

For consumers, the immediate impact is minimal: Chinese EVs are essentially absent from U.S. showrooms today. But the longer-term stakes are high. If the ban becomes law, it would lock out the world’s largest EV producer from the world’s second-largest auto market, reshaping global supply chains and potentially raising prices for American buyers. It would also signal that the U.S. is willing to sever deep economic ties with China over security concerns, a step that goes beyond tariffs and into outright prohibition.

Moreno is betting that the “Trojan horse” framing will resonate with a public that has grown wary of Chinese tech. Whether the bill moves forward or not, it has already sharpened the debate: is an electric vehicle just a vehicle, or is it a surveillance device on wheels? The senator’s answer is clear, and he wants Congress to act on it.