Nvidia Sheds $430B in Two Days as Senator Urges Huang to Resign
Nvidia fell 5.5% Tuesday after a 4.3% Monday drop, erasing 2026 gains. Sen. Cramer and Larry Kudlow urged Jensen Huang to resign, the board hired Wachtell Lipton, and Rep. Mast set a Wednesday subpoena deadline.
Nvidia lost about $430 billion in market value across November 9 and 10 as Sen. Kevin Cramer and Larry Kudlow publicly called on CEO Jensen Huang to resign over his ties to a businesswoman U.S. intelligence reportedly concluded was a Chinese spy.
Shares closed down 5.5% at $168.89 on Tuesday, following a 4.3% drop on Monday. That leaves the stock about 9.5% below Friday's close and has erased all of its 2026 gains. Buyers returned early Wednesday: shares were up 3.8% at $175.23 in premarket trading, though some accounts put the rebound above 5%.
The selloff follows a shareholder suit accusing Nvidia and Huang of hiding the alleged ties to an executive at Megaspeed, which Nvidia lists as a cloud partner.
Calls to step down
Cramer, a North Dakota Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, told Politico late Tuesday that Huang should go. He called the board's internal investigation "fine, but not nearly enough."
"The potential for extortion is so tremendous that something as sensitive as Nvidia chips, I just think he's got to go."
Sen. Kevin Cramer
Kudlow made the same case on Fox Business: "Step down, Mr. Huang, right now."
Cramer's committee has jurisdiction over bills that would curb Nvidia chip sales to China, including the AI Overwatch Act and the Chip Security Act, which are being considered for the annual defense spending bill. That gives his comments weight beyond the personal scandal.
Board hires outside counsel
Nvidia said Tuesday that its independent directors retained Joon Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for the probe announced Sunday. The company posted the statement from its independent board members on X.
The probe has reportedly found no sign so far that secrets or national security were compromised, and the board still backs Huang. So does Trump, who wants him to stay on. Trump said the FBI is looking into the matter and that Huang told him he did not know she was a spy.
Congress sets a deadline
Rep. Brian Mast said he was prepared to subpoena Huang unless he responded by Wednesday to a request for a closed-door briefing on November 18, the day after Nvidia reports quarterly earnings. Rep. John Moolenaar wants to know whether Huang shared privileged information with the businesswoman, Alice Huang, and whether he was influenced to lobby against chip export restrictions.
"If it becomes less of an investigation, more of damage control, that's not going to work."
Rep. John Moolenaar
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of failing to act after being briefed: "What a dereliction of duty."
What remains unproven
The spy claim is unproven. China denies it, and Reuters could not verify it. Alice Huang, who is unrelated to Jensen Huang, became controlling shareholder of Singapore-based Megaspeed in March 2023, according to a Reuters records review. Megaspeed has drawn scrutiny over export-controlled chips, but there is no public finding that it broke rules.
Rep. Jay Obernolte said a personal scandal should not "interfere" with the policy debate over chip exports. George Chen of The Asia Group said Huang "may also be viewed as a potential victim" if he was targeted without knowing who she was.
Why it matters
Options expiring November 11 priced a move of only about 2.5%, and the stock has already moved more than that in each session this week. With earnings six days out and the Mast deadline arriving Wednesday, the governance question and the China export debate now sit on the same calendar.
