House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast said Thursday it is "very likely" that a group of bills imposing new guardrails on exports of advanced US chips to China will make it into this year's must-pass annual defense bill.

The Florida Republican, whose committee oversees export control policy, told reporters that the scandal surrounding Jensen Huang has added momentum to the effort. Huang resigned as Nvidia's CEO earlier the same day, after revelations that he had an extramarital relationship with a potential Chinese spy.

"If he doesn't know who he's in bed with, he doesn't know where all the chips are going either, and we know that for a fact," Mast said.

Which bills are in the mix?

Lawmakers are discussing a trio of chip export control measures for the annual defense package:

• The Chip Security Act, which would crack down on smuggling by requiring advanced chips to contain location-verification mechanisms.
• A measure that would tighten restrictions on chip-making equipment and push foreign countries to match US restrictions.
• A bill giving Congress a chance to review licenses for advanced sales of AI chips.

Together, the three proposals would tighten oversight across the advanced-computing supply chain, from fabrication equipment to post-sale tracking.

What about the White House?

The legislative push runs against the current at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump has been cool to the idea of tighter chip export restrictions and previously signed off on deals that allowed Nvidia to sell more of its high-end chips to China.

That tension sets up a potential confrontation over the defense authorization bill, one of the few pieces of legislation Congress must pass every year — and a vehicle that lawmakers routinely load with measures lacking standalone momentum.

Does Mast still trust the Commerce Department?

Partially. Mast said he still has confidence in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is facing growing scrutiny over his handling of the Trump administration's chips policy.

He declined to extend the same assurance to a key Lutnick deputy. Jeffrey Kessler heads the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the bureau in charge of export controls.

Asked directly if he has confidence in Kessler, Mast would not commit. "I'm not going to answer that yes or no. It's something that — you know, he's been most granular on this level and a lot of things about where chips can and can't be sold to. That's been more of an argumentative dynamic," Mast said.

He added that he "absolutely" wants to investigate the bureau's role in the Nvidia controversy. A BIS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Will Jensen Huang testify?

Mast is pressing for the former Nvidia chief executive to testify about the scandal soon — and on a tight clock.

"We want to see him basically in a week," Mast said. "Sooner rather than later."

He is in talks with Huang's team but did not rule out a subpoena if negotiations stall. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"If negotiations shut off and we don't think they're in good faith, OK, fine, do that," Mast said of a possible stonewalling. "I'll just subpoena you for the next day. No big deal."

For Nvidia's Washington operation, the calendar now holds two deadlines at once: a potential congressional appearance within roughly a week, and a defense bill that could soon harden the rules governing its single most geopolitically sensitive market.