Nvidia’s Huang Presses GOP on AI Policy as U.S.-China Chip Tensions Flare

Key Moments

Silicon Valley’s AI Push Meets Washington Politics

Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang traveled to Washington, D.C., for high-level meetings with President Donald Trump and Republican senators, as technology leaders intensify efforts to shape federal policy around artificial intelligence and the global market for cutting-edge chips.

Huang met in a closed-door session with Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee, part of a broader lobbying surge coinciding with large-scale AI investments and ambitious projections from major technology companies about the technology’s economic and societal impact.

He is among a group of Silicon Valley executives warning that sweeping limits on AI technologies and hardware would impede U.S. innovation, even as policymakers and the public increasingly focus on risks – including how foreign competitors such as China could deploy American-designed chips.

NVIDIA’s Jensen on Capitol Hill “answering questions about AI”

Reality: Trump probably fine with H200 sales to China, the real obstacle is Congress

If we want a safer global AI ecosystem, we need the 🌎 building on the CUDA standard

Open the pipes, set the rules, let USA win pic.twitter.com/gE8qS5BvZa

— Ben Pouladian (@benitoz) December 3, 2025

Huang’s Case for Export Controls Without Chip “Degradation”

Speaking to reporters before heading into the Capitol Hill meeting, Huang said he favors export controls but insisted that U.S. companies must retain a global edge in AI hardware.

“I’ve said repeatedly that we support export control, that we should ensure that American companies have the best and the most and first,” Huang said.

He acknowledged concerns over AI chip sales to China, but contended that restrictions have not slowed that country’s AI progress.

“We need to be able to compete around the world. The one thing we can’t do is we can’t degrade the chips that we sell to China. They won’t accept that. There’s a reason why they wouldn’t accept that, and so we should offer the most competitive chips we can to the Chinese market,” Huang said.

Huang also noted that he met with Trump earlier in the day to discuss export policies affecting Nvidia’s chips and said he wished the president “a happy holidays.”

Policy Reversal and a Controversial Revenue-Sharing Deal

The CEO’s visit comes after a significant policy shift by the Trump administration. In May, the administration rolled back earlier restrictions that had blocked Nvidia and other semiconductor firms from exporting chips to a wide set of countries.

Then, in August, the White House unveiled an arrangement allowing Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, another U.S. chipmaker, to continue selling advanced chips into China. Under the terms described, the U.S. government would claim a 15% portion of those sales.

The policy combination – relaxing earlier constraints while imposing a revenue share on exports to China – has proved divisive on Capitol Hill. Even as lawmakers across parties generally support strong controls on AI-related exports, the specific structure and implications of the deal have become a flashpoint.

Security Concerns and the AI Race With China

In Congress, the sale of high-end AI chips into China is widely viewed through a national security lens. Lawmakers see China as the primary rival to the United States in what they describe as a competition to develop artificial superintelligence.

In response, legislators have introduced a wave of proposals this year targeting AI’s influence across numerous sectors. However, none of these bills have yet been enacted.

Mixed Reception From Senate Republicans

Most Republican senators who participated in the session with Huang avoided detailed public comment on the discussion. A few, however, characterized the exchange as useful and constructive.

“For me, this is a very healthy discussion to have,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican. Rounds described the conversation with Huang as a “general discussion” about the status of AI and noted that senators are still weighing a broad spectrum of potential policy responses.

Pressed on whether he viewed Nvidia’s objectives as aligned with U.S. national security, Rounds replied: “They currently do not sell chips in China. And they understand that they’re an American company. They want to be able to compete around the rest of the world. They’d love to some time be able to compete in China again, but they recognize that export controls are important as well for our own national security.”

Other Republicans voiced sharper doubts about Huang’s perspective. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he decided not to attend the meeting.

“I don’t consider him to be an objective, credible source about whether we should be selling chips to China,” Kennedy told reporters. “He’s got more money than the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and he wants even more. I don’t blame you for that, but if I’m looking for someone to give me objective advice about whether we should make our technology available to China, he’s not it.”

Democratic Criticism and Calls for Public Testimony

Some Democrats reacted angrily to being excluded from the session, criticizing both the format and Huang’s decision to engage only with Republicans behind closed doors.

“Evidently, he wants to go lobby Republicans in secret rather than explain himself,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.

Warren said she wants Huang to appear in an open congressional hearing and answer “questions about why his company wants to favor Chinese manufacturers over American companies that need access to those high-quality chips.”

Her comments highlight growing pressure from some lawmakers for more transparency around Nvidia’s strategy in China, as well as broader congressional scrutiny of how leading AI hardware suppliers balance commercial ambitions with national security considerations.