WASHINGTON — U.S. Democratic lawmakers have initiated preliminary steps to investigate the Trump administration’s semiconductor export policies toward China, following explosive allegations involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and suspected ties to Chinese intelligence.

The development brings Nvidia’s export approval processes squarely into the congressional spotlight, with lawmakers demanding the preservation of all communication records between Huang and President Donald Trump.

Bipartisan Scrutiny and Preservation Demands

According to recent reports, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons dispatched formal letters to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The senators urged top administration officials to secure and preserve all documents and communications concerning Nvidia’s semiconductor exports to China and the allegations surrounding Huang.

The lawmakers set a deadline of the 17th for the respective agencies to confirm whether staff members have been instructed to preserve all relevant logs and documentation.

This scrutiny unfolds amid reports that Nvidia’s board of directors has begun preparing for a potential succession or removal of Huang. Recent media coverage revealed that Huang was allegedly involved in two romantic relationships, including one with a female executive suspected of having ties to Chinese intelligence services.

While neither Huang nor Nvidia has been formally proven to have violated U.S. espionage or export control laws, the scandal threatens to expand far beyond personal misconduct into a sweeping congressional inquiry into Nvidia’s business in China and the broader semiconductor policies of the Trump administration.

Senators Warren and Coons are slated to take the helm as chairs of the Senate Banking Committee and Foreign Relations Committee, respectively, next January. Both committees hold jurisdiction over advanced technology export controls and national security oversight.

"This situation raises critical concerns regarding the federal government's ability to effectively enforce export controls and protect national security," the senators wrote in their joint letter.

The scope of the requested document preservation is broad, encompassing security and intelligence data regarding Huang’s alleged ties to foreign intelligence, all lines of communication between Nvidia and the Trump administration, direct interactions between Huang and President Trump, and policy-making documents related to semiconductor export restrictions.

Huang has previously cultivated a close rapport with President Trump while actively lobbying for a relaxation of artificial intelligence chip export limits to international markets, including China.

Growing Pressure from Both Sides of the Aisle

The push for transparency aims to determine whether conflicts of interest existed between Huang and the administration, and whether national security regulations were strictly followed during the export approval process. Such data preservation requests often serve as precursors to formal congressional investigations following a midterm election cycle.

However, pressure on the Nvidia chief executive is not limited to the Democratic camp. Representative Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has called on Huang to voluntarily testify before Congress next week regarding his relationship with Alice Huang—a former executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed International who has been linked to allegations of Chinese intelligence ties. Chinese authorities have denied these espionage allegations.

Mast noted that long-standing concerns have persisted regarding semiconductor transactions between Nvidia and clients in high-risk nations, stating, "Nvidia plays an oversized role in this discussion."

In response to the unfolding controversy, lawmakers from both parties are reportedly exploring legislative measures to further tighten AI chip exports to China and other nations presenting national security vulnerabilities.

Reflecting the escalating political tension, Republican Representative Michael Baumgartner remarked on Huang's signature black leather jacket: "We hope Congress doesn't find itself in a position where he has to swap that for a prison jumpsuit. And we hope it doesn't turn out that his partner being a Chinese spy crossed the line into violations of U.S. espionage or export control laws."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]