Schumer Accuses Trump of Defending Nvidia CEO at Cost of National Security

Sen. Charles Schumer on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump of defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the expense of U.S. national security, saying Trump was briefed more than a year ago that Huang was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy and did nothing about it.

Schumer said on the Senate floor that press reports showed Trump was briefed more than a year ago that Nvidia's CEO was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy and did nothing about it. He said one of the most important companies involved in national security had a CEO who might be having an affair with a Chinese spy, and Trump did nothing about it.

Schumer's remarks followed New York Times reports that Trump had been briefed about Huang's extramarital affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, whom U.S. intelligence concluded was a spy for China, and chose not to act. Trump told reporters Monday that he only recently learned of the allegations and said he really believes Jensen Huang's claim that he had no idea Alice Huang was a spy.

Schumer called the inaction a dereliction of duty, saying Trump has been busy trying to defend Jensen Huang when he ought to be defending our national security. He noted Trump invited Huang on a state visit to Beijing earlier this year and took the CEO's advice in granting China access to some advanced U.S. AI chips. Nvidia also donated $25 million to Trump's White House ballroom project, Schumer said.

Nvidia makes advanced chips that are essential components in developing artificial intelligence models, a sector at the center of U.S.-China competition. Schumer called on Republicans to join Democrats in passing the AI Overwatch Act, the Match Act and the Chip Security Act, which he said would cut off China's access to advanced American technology. He also sought answers on Nvidia's influence and the loosening of key export controls.

Schumer's comments came nearly a week after Democrats won enough Senate and House races to take majority control of both chambers in January, giving the party the ability to launch investigations into Nvidia and Huang. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said on CNBC's Squawk Box that Congress needs to get to the bottom of Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, including whether privileged information was shared, whether Huang was influenced to lobby against restricting chip sales to China, and whether China was given preference in buying Nvidia's limited supply of advanced chips.

Moolenaar co-authored a Nov. 5 letter with Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Rick Crawford, R-Ark., asking Huang to appear before three House committees. Mast said Tuesday he had not received a response. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., co-chair of the House AI task force, warned the scandal could distract from export-control talks, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that a full briefing on the Nvidia issue is needed.

Nvidia announced last week that it was opening an independent investigation into Jensen Huang's conduct, hiring law firm Wachtell Lipton to lead the probe. Nvidia shares were down 5.47% in delayed trading at $168.89.

What remains unclear

It is not known whether Huang shared information with Alice Huang or influenced export-control decisions, and Huang has not responded to the congressional letter. The next dated event is the Democrats taking majority control of both chambers in January, when oversight investigations could begin.