Congress presses Nvidia's Huang to resign as subpoena threat grows
Senators and House members called on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to resign on Wednesday, and three House committees threatened a subpoena if he refuses to testify about his reported ties to a suspected Chinese spy.
Resignation calls mount
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, doubled down on Wednesday on his call for Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to resign, saying, "As a matter of his own conscience, he should resign." Cramer warned that Huang was "so vulnerable to extortion, blackmail" and called the matter a national security risk.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said, "Jensen Huang should resign from Nvidia." Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, also said Huang should step down, saying he "allowed himself to get compromised by the Chinese government."
A subpoena threat and a deadline
Three House committee chairs asked Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing on November 18, and they gave him until the end of Wednesday to respond. The request came from Reps. Brian Mast, who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, John Moolenaar, who leads the House panel on China, and Rick Crawford, who leads the House intelligence panel.
Asked whether the committees would subpoena Huang if he refuses to appear, Mast said "yes." Moolenaar said all three committees have subpoena power and a serious interest in getting to the bottom of the matter, adding, "We are going to continue to pursue this."
Export controls move to the front
The scandal may give Congress new momentum to tighten controls on advanced AI chip exports in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. The bills under discussion include the AI Overwatch Act, the MATCH Act and the Chip Security Act, all aimed at keeping advanced American chip technology from reaching adversarial hands.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, the incoming chair of the Senate Banking Committee, and Jim Banks urged colleagues to include the AI Overwatch Act, saying the case made national security concerns "even more urgent." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also called on Congress to pass the bill. Huang has long opposed strict export controls, a stance that has irritated China hawks in Congress.
- House testimony dateNovember 18
- Chips reportedly sent to China$7.5 billion
- Nvidia after-hours dropAbout 8%
- Nvidia earnings dateNovember 17
What is at stake
Huang admitted on Sunday that he had an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence officials concluded was a Chinese spy. The woman, Alice Huang, is a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore data center company and Nvidia customer. The Information reported that the affair facilitated the shipment of at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese firms.
Nvidia faces a proposed shareholder class action accusing it of concealing the security risks, and its shares fell about 8% after hours on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the board is preparing to remove Huang. The company reports third-quarter results on November 17.
