Lutnick agrees to testify before Congress as Republicans pile on the embattled Commerce secretary

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has reportedly agreed to testify before lawmakers next month as the spotlight on him grows harsher amid Nvidia’s (NVDA) turmoil.

Both Democrats and Republicans alike are raising questions about whether Lutnick went too far in protecting Nvidia’s push to sell its chips overseas even as the US government was warning about a possible security breach.

Lutnick is reportedly set to appear on Dec. 10 before the Senate Banking Committee, in news first reported by Fox News. Spokespersons for the Commerce Department and the Senate panel did not immediately provide additional details.

The appearance would set up what could be a major moment for the suddenly embattled Commerce secretary after days in which he and the White House had largely stayed silent as even some of Trump’s closest allies grew more vocal.

Lutnick will appear before Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the Senate panel until the end of the year and a regular on President Trump’s campaign stops last month. Scott released a letter Thursday evening requesting that Lutnick and ousted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appear before Congress early next month.

“Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive U.S. technology,” Scott wrote. “The American people deserve answers.”

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana used more colorful language in a recent appearance on CNN, saying he wanted answers about why the Commerce Department allowed Nvidia to sell chips to an alleged Chinese spy’s company.

“This whole thing is an intergalactic freak show,” Kennedy said.

Some Trump aides have declined to defend Lutnick emphatically.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised eyebrows Friday during a CNBC appearance when he reiterated his desire for stronger government limits on advanced semiconductor exports — which he added that the Pentagon, State Department, and the trade representative’s office agreed with.

“Commerce has the pen…,” Bessent said, “and you will have to ask them about their internal processes.”

The rapid-fire developments have also increased the odds of Congress passing new curbs on semiconductor exports to China, with lawmakers now moving to add some combination of three bipartisan plans into a military funding bill that needs to pass before the end of the year.

A White House official said that Trump maintains confidence in Lutnick, but the president’s only direct reaction to the scandal in recent days was a Truth Social post saying Huang had “done a fantastic job” and that former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take over Nvidia.

The administration’s response has done little to quell the questions from lawmakers after reports about whether Huang’s affair with a suspected Chinese spy endangered US national security and painted Lutnick as a roadblock in responding, even as other Trump aides pushed for more muscular action.

The New York Times reported that Trump was warned about the possible security issues with Nvidia on two separate occasions but didn’t act.

These questions have led to a flurry of calls for investigations and for Lutnick and Huang to testify. Huang has agreed to appear before a House panel before Thanksgiving, though a date hasn’t been set yet.

Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana said he wants to hear from Lutnick soon “because we have a lot of bipartisan questions and concerns about what’s happened over the last year.”

Democrats are set to take control of the House and Senate committees that oversee trade and have already launched an investigation into Lutnick.

The flood of criticism has led senior White House officials to discuss whether Lutnick should be pushed out, according to a Reuters report, but it is not yet clear if Trump is willing to jettison a close ally who has survived other accusations in the first two years of Trump’s second term.

This spring, Lutnick was forced to revise his account of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after the release of the disgraced financier’s files revealed that Lutnick had contact with Epstein for years longer than he had previously claimed.

Lutnick was forced to testify before Congress about the matter — and Democrats called it an embarrassing episode — but Trump stood by him.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.