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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify, widening a congressional inquiry that has moved from Huang's private life to U.S. controls on chip exports to China. "The American people deserve answers," Scott wrote in a tweet announcing the requests on Thursday evening.
In a letter dated November 12, Scott asked Huang to appear voluntarily at a public hearing on December 3 over public reports that "raise significant national security concerns." The committee has jurisdiction over export controls, "including their application to NVIDIA's exports of advanced semiconductors," he wrote. If Huang does not appear, the committee "is prepared to use all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas."
Scott asked Lutnick to testify on December 10, noting Commerce's "central role in issuing and enforcing export control regulations." A Lutnick spokesperson told NBC News that he had "proactively agreed to appear voluntarily," while the White House said President Donald Trump "maintains complete confidence" in Lutnick.
Separately on Thursday, the Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, China and Intelligence committees, Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Rick Crawford (R-AR), wrote to Huang, Nvidia General Counsel Tim Teter and Jeffrey Kessler, the Commerce Department's under secretary for industry and security.
Huang was asked to sit for a closed-door, transcribed interview on December 1 and Teter on December 2, with each given until 8 p.m. on Friday to agree or face a subpoena. Kessler, whose bureau administers export controls, was invited to a hearing on December 3.
"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," the three chairs said in a statement. They called on Congress to add four chip security bills to the annual defense authorization bill.
It is their second request. A letter dated November 4 had asked Huang to brief the committees on November 18. Mast told reporters on Thursday that Huang had agreed to brief lawmakers, NBC News reported.
At the center of the inquiries is Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. U.S. officials suspected the company of helping Chinese firms get around restrictions on advanced AI chips, The New York Times reported in October. Its sister company in Malaysia bought at least $4.8 billion of AI equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and February 2026, according to trade records cited by the Times.
Megaspeed told the Times it had hired outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation. Nvidia has said it complies with U.S. export laws, according to NBC News.
The Times reported that U.S. officials had concluded that Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, was a Chinese intelligence asset. China has rejected that as a smear, and Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the Justice Department had not reached a conclusion on whether she was a spy, according to BBC News.
Jensen Huang admitted on Sunday to being unfaithful to his wife and resigned on Thursday. Nvidia's board has said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
Moolenaar told reporters that Huang had "been one of the strongest proponents for not having export controls," Roll Call reported. On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the Banking Committee's ranking member, and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) asked Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to preserve records on Nvidia chip exports to China.
China's foreign ministry warned on Friday that tighter U.S. export controls on semiconductors would threaten the stability of global supply chains, Al Jazeera reported.
Nvidia shares closed down 4.3% at $166.19 on Thursday and were up 2.7% at $170.63 in premarket trading early on Friday, according to Yahoo! Finance. The company has lost almost $500 billion in market value since the close on Friday, November 6. It reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, the first under interim CEO Colette Kress.
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