Open this photo in gallery:
Then-Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at the G20 Innovation Ministerial summit in North Carolina on Sept. 2.Jonathan Drake/Reuters
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Nvidia’s former CEO Jensen Huang asking them to testify over recent developments at the company.
Huang stepped down from Nvidia, one of the major engines behind the AI boom, after reports of a romantic relationship with a businesswoman named Alice Huang whom U.S. authorities suspect of spying for the Chinese government.
In addition, a growing number of lawmakers have criticized Lutnick for the administration’s refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key U.S. trade blacklist, and over whether the government was properly overseeing Nvidia’s exports to China.
Jensen Huang’s downfall threatens to burst AI bubble
“Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive U.S. technology,” Scott wrote on X. “I am requesting that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee.”
Spokespeople for Huang and Lutnick could not immediately be reached.
Scott said he would consider subpoenaing Huang if he does not voluntarily appear. “The American people deserve answers,” Scott said.
Senior White House officials were separately discussing whether Lutnick should be pushed out, two people familiar with the situation said, as the desire to take action rose across Washington.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, told reporters on Thursday that congressional staff spoke with Nvidia on Wednesday night about a date and location to appear for a closed-door briefing with lawmakers. Mast and two other leading House Republicans asked Huang last week to brief them about his relationship with Alice Huang.
China has denied Alice Huang is a spy and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the Justice Department has not yet reached a conclusion on whether she is or not. Alice Huang could not be reached for comment.