NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) co-founder and former CEO Jensen Huang, along with President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, are facing growing scrutiny over Huang's relationship with an alleged Chinese intelligence operative. And now Congress wants a word.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the Republican chair of the Senate Banking Committee, took to X on Thursday to share letters he sent to both men, calling on them to testify before Congress.
"Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive U.S. technology," Scott said in the post.
"I am requesting that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee," he said, adding that the probe comes as the "American people deserve answers."
Two Dates, Two Witnesses, One Very Uncomfortable December
In the letter to Huang, Scott called on him to appear before Congress on December 3, 2026, warning that the committee will use all tools at its disposal, including subpoenas, to "conduct this legitimate and necessary oversight."
Scott also asked Lutnick to testify on December 10, 2026, saying the commerce secretary's testimony will be "essential" for oversight and that there were "significant national security and economic interests at stake" that required substantial engagement. He did not threaten to issue subpoenas in that letter, which is a subtle but telling difference.
Warren: Resignation Is Not Absolution
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) also delivered sharp criticism of Huang and Nvidia on Thursday on X following the billionaire's resignation.
"Jensen Huang's decision to resign from NVIDIA does not absolve him, other executives, or the company as a whole" of potentially putting U.S. national security at risk and potentially violating other laws, Warren said.
The Massachusetts senator then called for a congressional probe. "They still owe Congress answers," Warren said in her post.
Lutnick's Future Hangs in the Balance
The former Nvidia CEO's relationship with alleged Chinese intelligence asset Alice Huang, an executive for Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed, has put the Department of Commerce and Lutnick under scrutiny. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly confronted Lutnick over not blacklisting companies with reported ties to Beijing.
According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, Lutnick's future in the Trump administration is also uncertain, with senior officials at the White House discussing the potential ouster of Lutnick over the spying scandal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also said that bipartisan support for tougher restrictions on Chinese access to advanced AI chips was growing. Notably, the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO shares deep ties with Trump, part of a decades-old relationship between the pair. That history may buy him some time, but it doesn't make the questions go away.
How We Got Here: The Resignation
The scandal broke when reports emerged that Huang was in an extramarital relationship with a Chinese executive, whom U.S. authorities have dubbed an alleged spy for Beijing. The former Nvidia CEO has acknowledged the relationship.
However, another report emerged that Huang was in a second extramarital relationship with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell, who worked under the former CEO. Huang's relationship with Powell reportedly violates Nvidia's code of conduct.
On Thursday, the Nvidia co-founder resigned from his role and was replaced by Nvidia's Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Colette Kress as the interim CEO.
So now the Senate wants to hear from the man who left, the cabinet secretary who oversees the agency at the center of the storm, and presumably anyone else who can explain how a relationship with an alleged foreign intelligence asset went unnoticed at one of the most important technology companies in America. The American people, as Scott put it, deserve answers. December is going to be busy.
