Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott on Thursday called on fallen Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify before the panel next month about a growing scandal involving Huang’s relationship with a potential Chinese spy.
Scott sent letters to Huang and Lutnick on Thursday evening requesting that they appear at separate Banking hearings, setting the stage for a pair of high-profile oversight events next month.
The letters come amid growing scrutiny on Capitol Hill of both men, including probes from House lawmakers. After Huang agreed to testify on Capitol Hill, three GOP chairs sent a letter to the former executive giving him until Friday evening to confirm his participation in a closed-door, transcribed interview on Dec. 1, or he will be subpoenaed.
Republicans are increasingly raising concerns about Lutnick’s management of the Commerce Department’s approach to chip policy, and Huang resigned as Nvidia’s CEO earlier Thursday.
A Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement that Lutnick “has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to address their questions.”
The letter to Huang threatens a subpoena if he does not voluntarily appear. It said that recent reports about his relationship with a potential Chinese spy “raise significant national security concerns.” Nvidia, an AI chip giant that was co-founded by Huang, is at the center of a fierce debate in Washington over the risks of selling advanced chips to China. Scott wants Huang to testify before Senate Banking on Dec. 3.
The Lutnick letter asks the embattled secretary to testify at a Dec. 10 hearing regarding “recent public reports about NVIDIA and the Department of Commerce’s role that raises national security concerns.”
“Given the Department of Commerce’s central role in issuing and enforcing export control regulations, your testimony before the Committee will be essential to our oversight of these efforts,” the Lutnick letter said. “Recent developments underscore the significant national security and economic interests at stake and the need for timely, substantive engagement with Congress.”
Spokespeople for Huang and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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