Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott requested that former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify in December. The move expands a congressional inquiry from personal matters to U.S. controls on advanced semiconductor exports. "The American people deserve answers," Scott wrote in a tweet announcing the requests on Thursday evening. If Huang does not appear voluntarily, the committee is prepared to use all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas.
Senate and House demands
Scott asked Huang to appear at a public hearing on December 3 over reports that raise significant national security concerns. The committee has jurisdiction over export controls, including their application to NVIDIA’s exports of advanced semiconductors. Lutnick agreed to appear voluntarily on December 10, while the White House stated President Donald Trump maintains complete confidence in him. Separately, Republican chairs Brian Mast, John Moolenaar, and Rick Crawford sent letters to Huang, Nvidia General Counsel Tim Teter, and Jeffrey Kessler. They demanded closed-door interviews for Huang on December 1 and Teter on December 2, with each given until 8 p.m. on Friday to agree or face a subpoena.
Moolenaar noted that Huang had been one of the strongest proponents for not having export controls. The inquiries center on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer whose sister company bought at least $4.8 billion of AI equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and February 2026. U.S. officials suspect the firm helped Chinese firms bypass restrictions on advanced AI chips. Alice Huang, a former executive, was identified by officials as a potential Chinese intelligence asset, though Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department had not reached a conclusion.
Market reaction and corporate fallout
Nvidia shares closed down 4.3% at $166.19 on Thursday before rising 2.7% in premarket trading early Friday. The company 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. Jensen Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and resigned on Thursday. Nvidia’s board stated it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
China’s foreign ministry warned that tighter U.S. export controls would threaten global supply chain stability. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Chris Coons asked Lutnick, Marco Rubio, and Stephen Miller to preserve records on Nvidia chip exports. The three House chairs called on Congress to add four chip security bills to the annual defense authorization bill. This pressure follows an earlier request for Huang to brief lawmakers on November 18, which he reportedly accepted.
