Huang Renxun stepped down from his roles as president, chief executive officer, and board member at Nvidia on Thursday. Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, will temporarily assume the position while the board searches for a long-term CEO. Trump has remained steadfast in his support for Huang. Before Huang’s decision to resign, Trump personally called him on Tuesday, urging him to continue fighting for his role. Huang’s departure removes one of the most trusted allies Trump had in Silicon Valley and deprives the U.S. artificial intelligence sector of its most vocal advocate. At a moment when lawmakers are grappling with how to respond to public anxiety over AI’s potential economic disruption, government officials are forced to confront what comes next. The sudden development has prompted increased scrutiny within the Department of Commerce, focusing on national security concerns and how much external actors may have known about Huang’s personal relationships with Huang Le. Calls are growing louder among members of Congress for stricter export controls on Nvidia chips, including from senior Republican leaders. In a period marked by urgent warnings from top developers about the unchecked trajectory of AI advancement, Huang’s exit creates a significant vacuum in the industry. His resignation offers little relief from the challenges facing the company. The event has opened a Pandora’s box: senior lawmakers across both parties are launching a series of inquiries and mutual accusations, pressuring investigations into Huang’s private connections and their implications for national security.
Huang has agreed to testify before Congress, though specific timing and format remain under negotiation. Last week, three Republican committee chairs—Representative Brian Mast of Florida, Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, and Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas—sent a letter to Huang demanding his appearance. Failure to comply could result in congressional subpoenas.
The next focal point is Howard Lutnick, who faces mounting criticism from both parties over the Department of Commerce and its leadership. From day one, a broad swath of Washington political figures have called for his removal, citing chaos caused by Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and the collapse of U.S.-Canada trade talks. Lutnick has also faced widespread scrutiny over past associations with Jeffrey Epstein. However, the current scrutiny differs in nature: both Democratic and Republican lawmakers now demand that he testify on how the department managed national security risks tied to Nvidia and China’s access to American semiconductors. Within the Trump administration, some officials have criticized Lutnick for allegedly relaxing oversight of Nvidia due to his close ties with Huang. Yet Trump has shown no indication of holding Lutnick accountable, continuing to publicly defend him. Given that Trump himself holds final authority over chip exports to China, it is unlikely he would turn on Lutnick—making it politically untenable to simply scapegoat him.
A more plausible candidate for blame is Jeffrey Kessler, the undersecretary for industry and security at the Department of Commerce and Lutnick’s deputy. Numerous current and former government officials believe that if either the president or Congress determines a scapegoat is needed for the Nvidia affair, Kessler is the most likely figure to be held responsible. Unlike Lutnick, Kessler lacks powerful personal connections. He already faces criticism from China hawks and former officials, many of whom have argued since early this year that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) was mismanaged, resulting in stalled regulations, backlogged export licenses, and unaddressed national security threats. This positions him as the highest-ranking official below cabinet level who could be targeted. During the formulation of advanced chip export policy under the Trump administration, Kessler and his team at BIS worked closely with Nvidia—even though final approval required Lutnick’s sign-off. This relationship placed Kessler at the center of the administration’s balancing act between national security concerns and the interests of American semiconductor manufacturers.
In parallel, Trump is considering successors to Huang. On Thursday, he wrote on Truth Social: “Since Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun (who has done an outstanding job) has resigned, only one person can fill his shoes—Tim Cook of Apple. Legend succeeding legend!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday morning that the controversy surrounding Huang might shift perspectives. “Export controls on chips to China have long been a major issue here. I support restricting these exports, and I believe Congress is coalescing around a consensus that this is an important stance, especially given recent developments.” Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a Republican from Florida, stated that a package of related bills is “very likely” to be included in the must-pass annual National Defense Authorization Act, establishing guardrails on advanced chip exports to China. Three proposed measures are under discussion: the Chip Security Act, which would mandate location verification features in advanced chips to deter smuggling; tighter restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, with efforts to align foreign policies with U.S. standards; and granting Congress the ability to review export licenses for advanced AI chips.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1881725900490827/
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