Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee after Chairman Tim Scott asked him to testify on December 10, CNBC reported, citing NBC News. Scott also asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to appear on December 3. Scott's letter to Lutnick asked about "recent public reports about NVIDIA and the Department of Commerce's role that raises national security concerns." Lutnick spokesperson Kristen Eichamer told NBC News that Lutnick "has proactively agreed" to appear.
According to CNBC, Huang has acknowledged an affair with an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that has bought over $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia AI chips over the past two years. The letter to Huang said reports about his relationship with the alleged Chinese spy "raise significant national security concerns." CNBC reported that the scandal, along with reports of a separate affair with a senior Nvidia executive, led to his resignation on Thursday.
Lawmakers from both parties are questioning the Commerce Department's oversight of Nvidia exports. Sen. Jim Banks said Lutnick "appears to have used loopholes" to allow some sales. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who will chair the committee from January, said Lutnick and Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler must explain why they have not closed export control loopholes. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Richard Neal told Lutnick they are investigating approvals of Nvidia sales to companies linked to the Chinese government, military and sanctioned entities. Rep. Brian Mast called for an investigation but said he had confidence in Lutnick.
CNBC also cited a June Reuters report that the administration declined to blacklist over 100 companies flagged as national security risks, including DeepSeek and memory chipmaker CXMT.
