A Republican senator is pressing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify as the fallout from Nvidia’s growing scandal reaches President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) sent separate letters Thursday asking Lutnick and former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to appear before his committee in December, Politico reported in an exclusive.
The request “sets the stage for a pair of high-profile oversight events next month,” the outlet reported.
Scott asked Huang to testify Dec. 3 and warned that he could face a subpoena if he declines to appear voluntarily. In his letter, Scott said reports about Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset “raise significant national security concerns.”
Huang stepped down as Nvidia’s CEO earlier Thursday. The company has been at the center of a fight in Washington over whether U.S. companies should be allowed to sell advanced AI chips to China.
Scott asked Lutnick to appear Dec. 10, as Republicans on Capitol Hill press for answers about the Commerce Department’s handling of chip exports.
“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,” Scott wrote.
Spokespeople for Lutnick’s department, Huang and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Politico’s requests for comment.