Democrats and Republicans unite to investigate Nvidia, but diverge on whether Trump is at fault

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Republicans and Democrats are showing rare unity in their calls for investigations into whether Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang compromised U. S. national security after admitting he had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy. The revelation surfaces a host of concerns that cut across committees related to intelligence, foreign relations and banking and finance, diving deep into the relationships between China, the U. S. and Huang, head of the largest U. S. chip-making company producing the most advanced technology surrounding artificial intelligence. While there’s bipartisan concern over whether the Chinese government and military accessed Nvidia’s most advanced chips and technology, Democrats are likely to be more focused on what President Trump knew and when. “That’s central,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told The Hill. Coons, likely the incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Democrats assume the majority in January, is pushing for an investigation into the relationship between Trump and Huang. Why did Trump ignore reported intelligence briefings that Huang was in a relationship with a suspected Chinese asset, Coons asked. “Why did he put our national security at risk? Why did he take Jensen Huang with him on Air Force One, to significant meetings with the Chinese?… That strikes me as the most pressing question,” he continued. Trump, at the last minute, brought Huang on board Air Force One traveling to Beijing in May — after Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed him that the U. S. had sensitive intelligence that the Nvidia CEO was in a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, The New York Times reported. Trump said Monday that any intelligence presented to him “didn’t make much of an impact on me” when asked about the news at the White House. “I’ve got a lot of questions,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday when asked about whether there will be a briefing for the full Senate. Warner said he’s not sure which committee would take the lead on any investigation. “There’s lots of jurisdictions between an awful lot of committees. Intelligence, my committee, has a huge footprint there. There are questions in terms of export controls, which come out of Banking,” he said. Outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) did not address a question on whether he has concerns about Trump’s relationship with Huang but said he wanted a probe into reports the Commerce Department approved chip sales to alleged shell companies with ties to the Chinese military. “I don’t know yet, sort of, who was instrumental in those decisions. And that’s why I think there needs to be an investigation to figure out what exactly happened,” Cornyn told The Hill. The Texas senator is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Foreign Relations Committee but lost his seat after Trump backed his GOP primary competitor. Cornyn questioned why Huang didn’t receive a “defensive briefing by the FBI,” alerting him that he was the subject of a foreign intelligence operation. “That’s typically what happens in counter-intelligence investigations. You tell the target of the intelligence operation, ‘Hey this is not an innocent interaction, this is a nation state spying on you and our country,’” he said. The FBI declined to comment to The Hill. Cornyn’s remarks echo Republicans’ concerns over Huang and whether he compromised U. S. national security, but they are stopping short of questioning Trump’s actions. A trio of House Republicans have called for Huang to come before them for a closed-door briefing on Nvidia’s security protocols and his “interactions with a publicly reported People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence asset: Megaspeed executive Alice Huang.” There’s no familial relation between the two. Jensen Huang has admitted having an extramarital affair and said Nvidia’s Board of Directors is launching an independent investigation into the national security concerns. Republicans critical of Huang’s long-time push to allow Nvidia to sell its chips to China have used the scandal to advocate for passing bipartisan legislation tightening restrictions on export controls. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a call to pass their bill, the AI Overwatch Act, to cut off pathways for China to access advanced chips. Likewise, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fl.), called for AI export controls bills, “making sure China can never get their hands on our most advanced technology.” “This situation with NVIDIA’s CEO is a massive concern for the national security of the United States,” he posted on X. Mast said he had no concerns over Trump’s relationship with Huang, when asked Tuesday evening by The Hill. Democrats are also concerned about the Commerce Department’s actions. A trio of senior Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are demanding Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick halt exports of advanced AI chips. “We hope that the Department did not ignore warnings about a suspected PRC intelligence operation while allowing advanced American technology to flow through companies under scrutiny,” they wrote in a letter sent Monday. “If Commerce was not briefed, we need to know why. If it was briefed, we need to know how it responded. And if the Department knowingly permitted these exports despite credible national-security concerns, the American people deserve an explanation.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.