2 Democrats probe Nvidia chip sales to China

Two top Democrats opened an inquiry on the 12th of November 2026 into Nvidia chip sales to China, the Senate Finance Committee said. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Richard Neal wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

They asked him to keep all records on sales of Nvidia's H200 AI chips. The letter came the day Jensen Huang quit as Nvidia boss.

What the letter claims

Under the deal, chips made in Taiwan went to the US first, where a 25 percent tariff was charged, the letter says. Commerce then let Nvidia sell them to Chinese firms.

Wyden and Neal called this an "unconstitutional export tax". They cited reports that Lutnick and Trump knew of Huang's ties to an alleged Chinese spy.

Limits of the probe

As the minority party, they can ask questions but cannot force answers, TechCrunch reported. Republicans in the House run a separate probe, and Huang agreed to testify.

The other side

The White House said Trump has "complete confidence" in Lutnick, Axios reported. The Commerce Department has not said on the record whether Lutnick saw the warning memo, Axios said.

China has called the spy claims groundless, Reuters reported. Nvidia has said it has no reason to believe national security was harmed.

Below we break down the money

The senators said Nvidia and Huang gave at least 26 million dollars to Trump projects. Under a 25 percent tariff, every 100 dollars of chips pays 25 dollars, by our arithmetic.

What is confirmed and what is not

The letter's claims are unproven. Its spy points rest on press reports, such as The New York Times.

Key facts

Wyden and Neal opened the inquiry on the 12th of November 2026.

They want Commerce to keep records on Nvidia H200 sales to China.

They called the 25 percent charge an unconstitutional export tax.

As the minority, they cannot force answers.