Jensen Huang, who stepped down as CEO of Nvidia Corp., has agreed to testify before Congress by Thanksgiving on his relationship with a woman suspected of spying for China, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said on November 121,3.
Huang agreed to testify on November 11 after several senior lawmakers threatened to subpoena him. The testimony will take place behind closed doors, though Mast said he expects the briefing to be recorded on video and transcribed.
The agreement follows a November 4 letter from House Republicans Mast, John Moolenaar, and Rick Crawford requesting that Huang appear before their committees. Moolenaar chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Mast chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Crawford chairs House Intelligence. Huang will brief lawmakers on his interactions with the suspected spy and on Nvidia's security protocols, according to Moolenaar2.
"Jensen and I have been very at odds as some of you already know on export controls, but Nvidia is a very important company to the United States of America," Mast said to reporters. "I don't want to see anything hurt in Nvidia, but he has some very serious questions to answer".
Huang resigned as president, CEO, and board member of Nvidia, effective immediately, on November 12[1][2]. The departure followed reports that the board was preparing to oust him over the alleged affair with a woman suspected of spying for China[2].
ANALYSIS The closed-door format and the involvement of three committees spanning foreign affairs, intelligence, and China-focused oversight indicate that lawmakers' concerns extend beyond Huang's personal conduct to Nvidia's security posture and the broader implications for U.S. chip-export policy.