Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify in December over national security concerns tied to Nvidia chip exports to China.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has summoned former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify next month about national security concerns related to Nvidia’s advanced chip exports to China.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters to Huang and Lutnick on Thursday requesting their testimony. Scott asked Huang to appear on Dec. 3 and Lutnick on Dec. 10, and said the committee could issue subpoenas if they refuse.
“Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive U.S. technology,” Scott wrote in a post on X. “The American people deserve answers.”
Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily, according to his spokesperson Kristen Eichamer, who told NBC News that Lutnick “took the initiative to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to answer questions.” Representatives for Huang did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Scott’s letter, NBC reported.
Huang resigned as Nvidia’s chief executive on Thursday after reports that he had an affair with a woman U.S. officials suspect of spying for China. The New York Times identified her as Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom U.S. officials concluded had been recruited by China’s main spy agency.
Huang has acknowledged an affair with an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that has bought over $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia AI chips over the past two years, according to CNBC.
Lawmakers are examining whether the Commerce Department properly vetted companies for national security risks before the Trump administration allowed Nvidia to sell advanced chips to China. The department was required to review companies before those sales were authorized.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the banking committee, said Huang’s resignation “does not absolve him, other executives or the company as a whole of responsibility for putting our national security at risk or for any potential violations of our laws.”
Senator Chuck Schumer said Congress must “demand answers” from Huang and called on the Trump administration to “answer for what it did once it learned about Mr. Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.”
House Republicans are also in discussions with Huang about testifying before other committees. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast asked Huang to appear before his committee on Dec. 1 for a closed-door, transcribed interview, with a subpoena possible if Huang does not confirm.
China has denied allegations of spying on the U.S. President Trump earlier defended Huang, calling him “honourable,” according to Al Jazeera.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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