Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has demanded that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang testify on Dec. 3, threatening subpoenas if they refuse. The Republican senator from South Carolina sent letters to both men on Thursday, invoking "all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas" should they fail to appear.

Scott tied the summons to "recent public reports that raise significant national security concerns," according to the letters. The committee he chairs — the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — holds direct oversight over export control policy.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?

Huang resigned Thursday morning after disclosures that he had two separate affairs, one of them with an alleged Chinese spy. The FBI has opened an investigation into his relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company that U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believe holds suspicious links to the Chinese government.

The resignation capped a rapid collapse for the onetime chief executive of Nvidia, whose chips have powered the American AI infrastructure buildout — a top priority for President Donald Trump.

What is Lutnick accused of doing?

Two Axios reports placed the Commerce Secretary at the center of the scandal:

• One report alleged Lutnick was made aware of Huang's relationship with the alleged Chinese spy and still approved the sale of Nvidia chips to Chinese buyers.
• The second said Lutnick was the only Cabinet official to resist Trump's attempts to crack down on the transshipment of more advanced Nvidia chips — models not approved for sale in China — to Chinese AI companies.

Scott singled out Lutnick's control over export rules as the reason his testimony is required. "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. "Recent developments underscore the significant national security and economic interests at stake and the need for timely, substantive engagement with Congress."

How has the White House responded?

A White House official told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that Trump "maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history."

"Secretary Lutnick is a champion of President Trump's America First trade and tariff policies, which have secured almost 20 fair trade deals and trillions in manufacturing investments," the official added.

The defense signals no immediate intention to sideline Lutnick despite the mounting congressional pressure.

What is at stake in the US-China AI race?

Nvidia's chips sit at the core of the U.S.-China technology rivalry. Trump's renewed trade war with China last year produced several rounds of reciprocal tariff actions before the administration approved the sale of certain previously restricted chips to China — despite warnings that the move could accelerate Beijing's AI buildout.

Export control enforcement, the mechanism governing which chips may reach Chinese buyers, now sits at the center of the controversy. The Dec. 3 hearing would give senators a public forum to examine whether that enforcement failed.

Are other Republicans joining the push?

Yes. Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota — both members of the Banking Committee and close Trump allies — have echoed Scott's calls for testimony.

The involvement of two loyalists from the president's own party raises the political cost of noncompliance for the administration. A refusal to appear voluntarily would set up a rare subpoena confrontation between a Republican-led Senate panel and a Republican Cabinet secretary.

For Nvidia, the episode adds regulatory and reputational strain to a company already navigating export restrictions on its most valuable product line. For Lutnick, Dec. 3 now stands as a deadline that could define his tenure at Commerce.