During Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Arena,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent should testify before Congress alongside former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Kennedy said lawmakers need answers about why the chips were sold, whether officials tracked their destination and how they confirmed the technology reached the company rather than the Chinese Communist Party.
Kennedy said the Commerce Department had apparently approved the sale of $4 billion worth of advanced chips to what he called “the spy’s company.” He argued that Congress should question not only the company’s CEO, but also the heads of the Treasury and Commerce departments. “Why were they selling the chips? Did they follow the trail? How do they know the chips went to the company and not to the Communist Party of China?” he asked.
Calling the situation “an intergalactic freak show,” Kennedy said the head of one of the world’s most powerful companies had played an outsized role in shaping U.S. artificial intelligence policy and the country’s approach to China. He said the reported chip sale raised serious questions about how that influence was exercised and why the public was only now learning about it.
Kennedy added that, if he were Lutnick, he would have already held a news conference to address the controversy. “I would have told the American people, through the media, look, I’ll be here as long as you want, I’m prepared to answer all questions,” he said. Kennedy acknowledged that Lutnick may need to consult advisers and attorneys, but said the secretary would ultimately be summoned to testify before Congress.
