US Congress widens Nvidia probe, seeking testimony from Jensen Huang and Trump officials

US lawmakers have been demanding answers about potential national security risks and White House oversight of advanced chip exports to China following revelations that former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was in a relationship with a businesswoman suspected of working for Chinese intelligence.

Three Republican House committee chairmen and Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott separately sent letters Thursday seeking testimony from Huang.

“As reports continue to come to light regarding Jensen Huang, Nvidia and MegaSpeed, there are clear national security concerns that need to be addressed immediately,” wrote House Select Committee on China chairman John Moolenaar, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast and House Intelligence Committee chairman Rick Crawford in a joint statement.

Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, wrote that his committee was seeking testimony from Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over national security concerns arising from reports about Nvidia and the US Commerce Department’s role. Scott warned that the panel could use its subpoena powers if the witnesses declined to appear voluntarily.

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The rise and fall of Jensen Huang, who has resigned as Nvidia’s CEO

The requests mark an expansion of congressional scrutiny into the controversy, which has raised questions about Nvidia’s safeguards against Chinese intelligence operations and the US government’s enforcement of restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China.

It remains unclear whether Huang will appear before either the House or Senate committees. Nvidia previously declined to comment on the request, while the chairmen’s latest letter indicated that they had been in contact with the company. A House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesperson also confirmed that negotiations over Huang’s appearance were ongoing.

Huang’s resignation on Thursday followed reports of his relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive reportedly linked to China’s Ministry of State Security, as well as separate allegations of two other affairs with Nvidia employees.

Beijing has dismissed the spy allegations as pure fabrication, accusing those behind them of smearing China.

Bipartisan calls for action grow

Democrats have also stepped up calls for an investigation. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks wrote to Lutnick on November 9 demanding an explanation of what the Commerce Department knew about the reported intelligence links, when senior officials were informed and why it continued to approve advanced AI chip exports to Chinese companies.

Meeks is expected to become chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when Democrats take control of the chamber in the next US Congress, giving him a potentially prominent role in congressional oversight of the administration’s China policy.

Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and expected to become its chairman in the next Congress, has also called for scrutiny of the controversy. The new Congress is scheduled to be sworn in on January 3.

The three House Republicans also requested a closed-door, transcribed interview with Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter on December 2, and asked Jeffrey Kessler, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for industry and security, to appear at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on December 3.

“We need to know the full extent to which our national security has been put at risk,” the three chairmen said. They also urged Congress to pass the AI Overwatch Act, Chip Security Act, Match Act and Remote Access Security Act as part of the annual defence authorisation bill.

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The chairmen had initially asked Huang to attend a joint, closed-door briefing on November 18. Their latest letter seeks a more formal transcribed interview on December 1.