House Republican Chair Threatens to Subpoena Nvidia's Huang Over Alleged Spy Ties

Asked by ABC News whether he would issue a subpoena, Representative Brian Mast said "absolutely." He told the network that the list of topics lawmakers want to raise with Huang is "lengthy" and includes what correspondence he had with the Chinese government, and said he was "100%" worried about the national security implications.

The threat moves the affair beyond the board inquiry and shareholder litigation Nvidia already faces and into a direct confrontation with Congress, at a time when lawmakers are weighing tighter limits on AI chip exports to China. It also lands a week before Nvidia reports quarterly results on November 17, with the stock under heavy pressure. Nvidia fell to $166.95 on Tuesday afternoon, leaving it down 18.42% in November and wiping out all of its gains for 2026, according to Decrypt.

Mast's demand follows a letter sent to Huang last week by Mast, Rick Crawford, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, and John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China. The three asked him to appear at a "joint, closed-door briefing" on Nvidia's "security protocols against foreign adversary espionage," according to ABC News. Republicans on the China committee sent a separate letter asking Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18 about his relationship with Alice Huang. ABC said it was not known whether he would appear, and that Huang had not responded to the request at the time of its report.

Mast tied the inquiry to Nvidia's products. "They're American chips. You know," he said, adding that "we don't want China to access them, to use them, to produce them like that."

Nvidia said on Sunday that it was investigating its chief executive after The New York Times reported that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data company Megaspeed who is alleged to be a Chinese government agent. The company's board has said it has "no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised," and that Huang "fully supports the review" and will cooperate with it. The board has since hired the law firm Wachtell and former Manhattan federal prosecutor Joon Kim to run the inquiry.

China has rejected the allegations as "baseless and purely slanderous smears against China." Alice Huang and Megaspeed did not respond to ABC's requests for comment.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI is investigating. He said Huang told him in a phone call that he did not know the woman was an alleged spy, and that Huang "had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy." It remains unclear when, if at all, the administration warned Nvidia that its chief executive was the target of an espionage effort, ABC reported.

Concern is not confined to Republicans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said there are "real concerns" and that "we're going to need a full briefing, specifically as it relates to the Nvidia issue."

How far a subpoena would go is uncertain. Republicans lose control of House committees in January, when Democrats take over the chamber after their midterm win. A subpoena issued now would probably lapse, and Democrats would have to issue a new one, according to ABC. The immediate tests are Mast's Wednesday deadline, Nvidia's results on November 17 and the China committee's requested briefing the following day.