# Democrats probe Nvidia chip sales deal with Trump

> House and Senate Democrats open an inquiry into how the Trump administration handled Nvidia's China chip sales after CEO Jensen Huang was ousted over an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
- Title: Democrats probe Nvidia chip sales deal with Trump · TechCrunch
- Summary: House and Senate Democrats open an inquiry into how the Trump administration handled Nvidia's China chip sales after CEO Jensen Huang was ousted over an…
- Keywords: nvidia, jensen huang, trump administration, china chip sales, democrats, congressional investigation, export licenses, TechCrunch
- Source: TechCrunch — https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/12/democrats-launch-nvidia-investigation-write-scathing-letter-on-huangs-scheme-with-trump
- Author: Julie Bort
- Published: 2026-11-12T22:42:51+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nvidia, jensen huang, trump administration, china chip sales, democrats, congressional investigation, export licenses, technology, startups
## Huang ousted, Democrats launch inquiry
On Thursday, Nvidia ousted CEO Jensen Huang after he confessed to an extramarital affair with a woman accused of being a Chinese spy.
## The alleged spy and Megaspeed connection
The woman, Alice Huang, was an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. U.S. officials suspect Megaspeed helped route advanced Nvidia chips into China.
## Who is investigating and what they want
Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, both Democrats, wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanding the department preserve records about the chip sales arrangement.
## How the scheme allegedly worked
Trump agreed to allow Nvidia H200 chip sales to China if chips made in Taiwan were first shipped to the United States. Trump then added a tariff, and the Commerce Department issued an export license.

> The scheme worked like this
## The revenue-sharing deal was public
In August 2025, Nvidia and AMD agreed to share fifteen percent of their revenue from chip sales to China with the U.S. government as part of a deal to secure export licenses.
## Democrats question timing and donations
The letter questions why the Commerce Department approved the deal after Trump learned of Huang's affair and after Nvidia donated twenty-six million dollars toward Trump's projects, including the ballroom.
## Huang agrees to testify to Republicans
After his resignation, Huang agreed to testify in a closed-door session before Republican-led Congressional committees from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and House Intelligence Committee.
## Key takeaway

Democrats launched an investigation into Trump administration approval of Nvidia chip sales to China, questioning whether the president leveraged knowledge of CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged spy to secure donations.