Adds no immediate Commerce comment, background in paragraphs 3-11

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Two Democratic senators asked the Commerce Department to explain why it removed an official and her deputy whose office had effectively barred nearly all Chinese cars from entering the U.S. market on national security grounds.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Warner pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a letter seen by Reuters to answer questions on reports the department pushed out "key national security officials who were working to counter China’s intelligence and cyber threats against American technology supply chains and communications infrastructure."

Reuters reported Elizabeth Cannon in January had agreed to resign as executive director for Information and Communications Technology and Services, an office created in 2022 to investigate threats to the supply chain from foreign adversaries.

The senators said that diminishing the office "and now pushing out its leadership, sends a clear signal that truly standing up to China is not a priority of this administration."

Cannon and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The office is responsible for efforts aimed at bolstering U.S. cyber defenses in response to cyberattacks like Salt Typhoon, the senators said, adding the loss of the officials "strips this office of the leadership and institutional expertise required to defend the United States against escalating national security and cyber threats."

Reuters first reported last month the Commerce Department was withdrawing a plan to impose restrictions on Chinese drones to address national security concerns after an earlier crackdown on passenger cars and trucks. Those restrictions effectively bar Chinese vehicles from the U.S. market.

The department also quietly shelved plans to impose similar restrictions on heavy trucks and buses.

The senators said the work of the office, along with probes of other Chinese issues and telecoms, has stalled under Lutnick's tenure. "In addition, ongoing actions against Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies, China Telecom and China Unicom, may be on hold despite the fact their presence in the United States may leave users’ personal data exposed to theft and disruption.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Diane Craft)

((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))