Howard Lutnick Agrees to Testify on NVIDIA; Senate Asks Dec. 10

NBC News reported that Committee Chair Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, sent letters on Nov. 12 asking Lutnick to testify in a public hearing on Dec. 10 and Jensen Huang on Dec. 3. Huang resigned as NVIDIA's chief executive the same day. Eichamer's statement, as NBC quoted it, said Lutnick "proactively agreed to appear voluntarily" to answer the committee's questions. It gave no date.

The sources disagree on the Lutnick date. NBC News gives Dec. 10 for Lutnick and Dec. 3 for Huang. Fortune's article text says Scott asked both men to appear on Dec. 3, while the committee's own social post embedded in the same article lists Dec. 3 for Huang and Dec. 10 for Lutnick, according to Fortune. Al Jazeera, citing AP, also reports Dec. 3 for both and adds that Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler was summoned for Dec. 3. Dec. 10 is the Lutnick date given by NBC News and by the committee post Fortune embedded; a Dec. 3 date for him is unconfirmed. The committee's public hearings page, checked on Nov. 13, lists only a Nov. 19 nomination hearing and no NVIDIA session.

Why export controls are the question

Scott wrote that the Commerce Department's "central role in issuing and enforcing export control regulations" makes Lutnick's testimony "essential" to the committee's oversight, per NBC. That role covers the licenses that decide which NVIDIA accelerators can ship to China, which is the supply-chain question behind the hearing. Sen. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, told Fox News that chips were exported "to defy President Trump's orders," NBC reported. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who is the committee's ranking member, said Lutnick must explain why export-control loopholes remain open. The White House said the president "maintains complete confidence" in Lutnick.

Subpoena threat and what else is pending

Fortune reported that Scott's letter to Huang says the committee is prepared to use "all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas" if either man declines to appear voluntarily. Lutnick's agreement removes that step for him. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, had said Lutnick "may need to be subpoenaed" if he refused. Al Jazeera reported that three House committee chairs separately asked Huang and NVIDIA's general counsel to appear on Dec. 1 and 2.

Earlier Voltgrid coverage

As Voltgrid reported on Nov. 11, Axios said Lutnick repeatedly stalled the third crackdown on NVIDIA chip diversion to China. On Nov. 12, Huang resigned and Colette Kress became interim CEO, and a House subcommittee asked five agencies to open probes.

What is not confirmed yet

The committee has not posted a hearing notice, witness list or room for a Lutnick session. Whether the hearing is public, on Dec. 10 or Dec. 3, and whether Huang will also appear voluntarily, was not confirmed in the reports we read. Huang's representatives had not responded to NBC's request for comment on Scott's letter. NVIDIA has said it complies with U.S. export laws, per NBC.