Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott sent letters on 12 November asking former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about developments at Nvidia, Yahoo News reported. Scott has requested separate public hearings: Huang on 3 December and Lutnick on 10 December. The requests bring the Senate committee into scrutiny already under way in the House over Nvidia’s leadership and US oversight of chip exports to China.
Key points
- Scott has asked Huang to testify on 3 December and Lutnick on 10 December.
- Scott warned Huang that the committee could use a subpoena if he does not appear voluntarily.
- The request to Lutnick concerns the Commerce Department’s role in issuing and enforcing export controls.
- Three House committee chairs are also seeking closed-door interviews with Huang and Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter.
Scott warns Huang of a subpoena
Scott requested the hearing dates in letters to the two men, CNBC reported. His letter to Huang said the committee was prepared to use “all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas” if Huang did not appear voluntarily. A hearing request would give senators the chance to question Huang in public, in addition to the closed-door interviews sought by House committee chairs.
Huang resigned on 12 November after reports of a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, whom US authorities suspect of spying for the Chinese government. Nvidia named its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, interim CEO, and plans to consider internal and external candidates for a permanent replacement, CNBC reported. An earlier AI Affairs report covered Huang’s departure and Kress’s appointment.
The allegation about Alice Huang remains an allegation. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on 12 November that the Justice Department had reached no conclusion on whether she was acting for the Chinese government, CNN reported. Blanche said the department was investigating, with the Commerce Department, whether a Singaporean company had bought advanced Nvidia chips for shipment to China. China has denied that Alice Huang is a spy, Yahoo News reported.
Lutnick faces questions over Commerce controls
Scott’s request to Lutnick concerns “recent public reports about Nvidia and the Department of Commerce’s role”, according to a passage of the letter published by Politico. The letter identifies Commerce’s responsibility for issuing and enforcing export-control regulations as a reason for seeking the secretary’s testimony. Scott’s requests therefore put the company’s former chief executive and the official responsible for the department’s controls before the same Senate committee on different dates.
Lawmakers have criticised Lutnick over the administration’s refusal to place dozens of Chinese companies on a US trade blacklist and have questioned whether the government was adequately overseeing Nvidia’s exports to China, Yahoo News reported. In a post on X, Scott said recent reports raised “serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology”. Those concerns span decisions about which companies face trade restrictions and the enforcement of rules governing shipments by Nvidia.
House committee chairs also sought interviews with Huang and Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter. AI Affairs reported that senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons had asked US officials to preserve records concerning Nvidia’s China exports. Scott’s letter seeks testimony from the cabinet secretary whose department administers export controls, while its separate request to Huang concerns a former company leader who had argued for continued chip sales to China, according to CNBC.
House committees set December interviews
House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Brian Mast, House China Select Committee chair John Moolenaar and House Intelligence Committee chair Rick Crawford have also written to Huang and Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter. They require closed-door, transcribed interviews on 1 December and 2 December respectively, with subpoenas threatened if the two do not appear. Their request would put Huang before House investigators two days ahead of the Senate hearing Scott has sought.
The House timetable follows an earlier statement from Mast that Huang had agreed to testify before Thanksgiving. The three House chairs’ letter now seeks a transcribed interview on 1 December. They also asked Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler to testify at a House hearing on 3 December — the date Scott has requested for Huang’s Senate appearance.
