United States Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that Congress must have a full accounting of US President Donald Trump’s defense of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and urged lawmakers to quickly approve new restrictions on US chip exports to China.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer cited reports that Trump was briefed a year ago on Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy and did nothing.

“What a dereliction of duty. He’s supposed to protect America, not China, not his friends,” Schumer said.

Trump called Huang an “honorable guy” over the weekend, and on Monday said Huang had told him he did not know the woman was a spy.

Questions about Nvidia’s influence

Schumer noted that Trump invited Huang on his visit to Beijing earlier this year and accepted a $25 million donation from Nvidia for his White House ballroom.

“We also need answers on Nvidia’s influence campaign and how it affected the Trump administration’s national security decisions, including the loosening of key export controls,” he said.

He added that Trump took Huang’s advice in granting China access to some of the most advanced US AI chips.

Pressure for chip restrictions

The allegations center on Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singapore-based company Megaspeed, whom The New York Times reported US intelligence concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.

Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, and Trump said the FBI is looking into the matter. House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar wants to know whether Huang shared privileged information with the woman, was influenced to lobby against curbs on chip sales to China, or gave China preference in buying Nvidia’s limited supply of advanced chips.

A growing number of lawmakers want to attach chip export restrictions to this year’s annual defense bill. The Senate version includes provisions giving Congress more authority over AI chips sent to China, pressuring US allies to restrict sales of chipmaking equipment to China, and requiring companies to track their AI chips abroad to combat smuggling. Schumer asked Republicans to join Democrats in passing the AI Overwatch Act, the Match Act, and the Chip Security Act. Lawmakers have also asked Huang for a briefing.