Key facts
- Jeffries said the classified briefing with Ratcliffe and Clayton briefly discussed Nvidia but mostly focused on Iran.
- Jeffries said Congress needs a full briefing specifically on the Nvidia situation to establish what happened.
- The Senate version of the defense bill would give Congress more authority over AI chips going to China.
- That version would also press US allies to restrict semiconductor equipment sales to China and require firms to track AI chips abroad.
- Nvidia is considered the biggest opponent of the Chip Security and AI Overwatch acts, per a former congressional staffer.
- The Information Technology Industry Council, whose members include Nvidia, has opposed the measures.
US House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on November 9 that Congress needs more answers after reports that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, and called for the House to pass an annual defense bill carrying restrictions on chip sales to China.
"Clearly Congress needs more information," Jeffries said about what happened at Nvidia, adding that there are "real concerns that need to be addressed with respect to the Nvidia situation." He said a classified briefing for congressional leaders on Monday with CIA director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton briefly discussed Nvidia but mostly focused on Iran. "We're going to need a full briefing specifically as it relates to the Nvidia situation so we can all get to the bottom of what has happened," he said.
The internal Nvidia probe followed a media report that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who allegedly passed information to Beijing. Huang told Nvidia employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship. Chinese authorities have dismissed the spying allegations. Nvidia declined to comment.
A Senate version of the defense bill contains provisions to give Congress more authority on AI chips going to China, prodding US allies to restrict sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China and requiring businesses to track their AI chips abroad to combat smuggling. Jeffries said he "strongly supports" restrictions on US chip sales to China in the final version of the annual defense bill. It was unclear whether he planned to disband the China select committee or create a special committee on AI policy.
Three chip measures are candidates for the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill, which began in October: the AI Overwatch Act, which would give Congress power over advanced chip exports; the Chip Security Act, which would require businesses to track their chips to combat smuggling; and the Match Act, which would push US allies to restrict more chipmaking equipment to China. The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced all three earlier in 2026, and they are now in the Senate National Defense Authorization Act management package.
Nvidia is considered the biggest opponent of the Chip Security and AI Overwatch acts, according to one former congressional staffer who had direct contact with the company over several months. Until the Justice Department brought indictments tied to chip smuggling in 2025, Huang and Nvidia had argued there was no such smuggling. The company said it complied with export laws.
In a joint statement on Monday, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana said: "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's confirmation of a relationship with a suspected spy for China's intelligence service makes these national security concerns even more urgent." They added: "It is time for Congress to take decisive action to pass key bills like the AI Overwatch Act in the NDAA that will cut off pathways through which China accesses advanced chips." In March, the senators had urged the Commerce Department to suspend or reconsider Nvidia's export licenses to China and conduct a full security review.
Democratic Representative Bill Foster of Illinois said the Chip Security Act he introduced with Republican Representative Bill Huizenga of Michigan had passed unanimously out of committee in the House. "It's time to get it across the finish line," he posted on X on Monday.
"The hurdle these bills need to clear is getting the White House onboard," said Chris MacKenzie, a spokesman for Americans for Responsible Innovation, a Washington nonprofit organization that favors the measures. "With everything that's surfaced, it would be costly for the White House to back Nvidia in a fight with Congress over restricting Chinese access to chips." The White House did not comment on the measures.
The Information Technology Industry Council, whose members include Nvidia, has opposed the measures, arguing they could undermine US competitiveness and complicate export control policy. A spokeswoman for the council declined comment on the current Nvidia situation.