Congress presses Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Lutnick to testify over chips in China

The Nvidia story isn't over just because Jensen Huang stepped down. Republicans in Congress now want the former Nvidia CEO and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to answer questions about how some of America's most advanced computer chips may have ended up in China.

House committee chairmen gave Huang until Friday evening to agree to a closed-door interview, or face a subpoena, according to CBS News. In the Senate, the Banking Committee chairman, Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina, asked both Huang and Lutnick to testify early next month.

What Congress is asking for

• The House: the Republican chairmen of the China Select Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Intelligence Committee asked Huang to appear for a closed-door interview on December 1. If he didn't accept by Friday evening, they said, the Foreign Affairs Committee would issue a subpoena. "We need to know the full extent to which our national security has been put at risk," they said, according to CBS News. They also asked to hear from Jeffrey Kessler, the Commerce Department under secretary who runs the office that controls chip exports.
• The Senate: Scott asked Huang to testify voluntarily in the first week of December and warned that the committee could use its subpoena power. He asked Lutnick to appear at a public hearing next month, according to CBS News.

Other Republicans backed the push. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he would support subpoenaing Huang. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he wants to hear from Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Huang testifying "would make sense," according to CBS News.

Will they show up?

It looks like it. Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Huang had indicated he's willing to appear, and Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, who chairs the China committee, said they were working on a date. Moolenaar said Huang's resignation "does change the dynamic," according to CBS News. A Commerce Department spokesman told NBC News that Lutnick has agreed to testify.

What the concern is

Here's the short version, sticking to what's on the record. The U.S. bans sales of Nvidia's most advanced chips to China, because they can be used for military and intelligence work. Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company, got access to some of those banned chips. It is under investigation in the U.S. and Singapore over whether it smuggled them into China. Megaspeed denies it, according to CBS News.

The link to Huang: news reports, including from CBS News, say he had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive whom U.S. authorities suspect of spying for China. She has not been charged with a crime in any report we found. Nvidia gave no reason for Huang's resignation.

The question for Lutnick is about the government's side. Critics say the Commerce Department should have stopped Megaspeed from buying chips. The New York Times reported that a Commerce Department investigation into the company was halted last year, according to CBS News.

Both parties want answers

This isn't a partisan pile-on. Republicans are leading the push now. Democrats have opened their own investigation into how the administration handled Nvidia's chip sales to China, according to TechCrunch. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Congress must demand answers, and that the administration must explain what it did once it learned of the relationship. Democrats take control of both chambers in January.

President Trump has played it down. He said he doesn't believe Huang knew the executive was a suspected spy, and called Huang's work "fantastic," according to CBS News.

What it means for you

This one matters beyond Washington. Advanced chips are what keep America ahead in defense and technology, and export bans only work if they're enforced. If banned chips leaked to China through a third country, that's a national security problem worth getting to the bottom of, whoever was in charge.

For your wallet, it's mostly about Nvidia's stock, which many retirement funds hold. Nvidia shares fell after Huang's resignation, as we covered here: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns: what it means for markets and your 401(k). Hearings could bring more headlines, but the business itself reports earnings on Tuesday, November 17, and that's the bigger number for investors to watch.

What to watch next

• Whether Huang accepts the House interview by Friday evening, or gets a subpoena.
• The dates for Huang's and Lutnick's Senate testimony in early December.
• Whether Congress tightens chip export rules, possibly in this year's defense bill.