Democrats Open Nvidia China Probe

TechCrunch reported that Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon sent the request to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Neal and Wyden are the top Democrats on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, respectively. In the minority, they can ask pointed questions, though not compel much beyond attention.

The letter, as described by TechCrunch, centers on a public arrangement under which Nvidia’s H200 chips could be sold to China if the Taiwan-made chips were first shipped to the United States, where tariffs were applied before Commerce issued an export license. The lawmakers call that arrangement questionable and allege it was illegal. TechCrunch noted that the Associated Press had previously reported Nvidia and AMD agreed in August 2025 to share 15% of their revenue from chip sales to China with the U.S. government as part of securing export licenses.

Neal and Wyden are also asking why Commerce allegedly continued to allow purchases by Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer that U.S. officials reportedly suspected of helping route advanced Nvidia chips into China. The letter further questions why other Asian companies were reportedly cleared to buy Nvidia chips despite having “no physical presence” at their listed addresses.

The inquiry does not stop at export mechanics. TechCrunch said the lawmakers also pointed to $26 million in Nvidia donations to Trump projects and asked how those payments factored into the approvals. That is an allegation in a congressional letter, not a finding. Still, it helps explain why the questions are aimed at Commerce and the White House as much as at Nvidia.

TechCrunch said this is the second congressional investigation so far tied to Nvidia’s China sales since allegations involving former CEO Jensen Huang became public. A separate Republican-led group has already demanded Huang testify in a closed-door session, and he agreed after resigning on Thursday.