Jensen Huang affair rocks D.C., brings calls from Congress to resign

Members of Congress are calling on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to resign and momentum is building to subpoena the executive, whose company is a leader in advanced artificial intelligence chips.

Senate banking committee member Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., doubled down Wednesday on his call for Huang to resign, and a key Democratic House oversight panel member and House Republican piled on.

“As a matter of his own conscience, he should resign,” Cramer told CNBC, in response to revelations that Huang had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy as the chipmaker he co-founded was given permission from the U.S. government to sell its technology to China.

Huang, who leads a company that’s been a chief beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, on Sunday admitted to having an affair with a woman whom news outlets have reported U.S. intelligence concluded was a Chinese spy. The revelation is sending shockwaves through Washington, with lawmakers now fearing that U.S. AI dominance could be at risk. 

“What bothers me at the end of it is what we don’t know is what she knows about him that can be utilized,” Cramer said, referring to Alice Huang and Jensen Huang, who are not related. “This is a guy that’s right now so vulnerable to extortion, blackmail. I just don’t think, as a national security matter, we can run the risk.” 

Cramer’s comments come on the deadline set by a trio of House lawmakers who requested Huang to testify before their committees on Nov. 18. 

GOP Reps. Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, John Moolenaar, chair of the Permanent Select Committee on China, and Rick Crawford, who leads the House intelligence panel, called for Huang to appear in a Nov. 4 letter. Congress members in the majority party also have subpoena power, should they choose to use it.

Mast and Moolenaar told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that they had not yet heard from Huang and that they were giving him until the end of the day to respond.

Asked whether the committees were considering subpoenaing Huang if he doesn’t agree to appear, Mast said “yes.”

Moolenaar, when asked the same question, said “all three committees have subpoena power, and I know all three committees have a very serious interest in getting to the bottom of this and having transparency around this.”

“We are going to continue to pursue this,” Moolenaar said.

The lawmakers are far from alone in their criticism, concern and outright shock over the affair. And the scrutiny is only expected to intensify with Democrats poised to take over both chambers of Congress in January. Huang has been close with President Donald Trump during the president’s second term, traveling on Air Force One to China in May.

“Jensen Huang should resign from Nvidia,” Rep. Suhas…