A closer look

After the Democrats took control of both the House and the Senate, Washington's script quickly shifted to the most classic episode of House of Cards: investigative power has become the new "White House" weapon. Newly elected members, incoming committee chairs, and those wishing to establish a firm foothold within the party have begun to set their sights on the closest tech allies of the Trump era.

In this series of investigation lists targeting top-tier companies, Nvidia suddenly turned from the "God of AI Infrastructure" into the most dramatic chapter, while other giants simultaneously entered the frame.

Nvidia: Intersection of Personal Vulnerability and National Security

On November 8, Jensen Huang sent an internal letter to all employees admitting to being unfaithful to his wife. The partner is Alice Huang, a former executive at the Singaporean data center company Megaspeed. US intelligence agencies have identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset who once passed information to Beijing, and the company she was with procured approximately 4.8 billion dollars of Nvidia-related equipment between June 2024 and February 2026, suspected of assisting in the transshipment of restricted advanced AI chips to China. Secretary of State Rubio had previously warned senior officials; Trump learned of the relevant intelligence but took no public action.

On the same day, Nvidia's board of directors announced the formation of an independent committee (independent directors + external lawyers) to investigate whether Jensen Huang had become a target of foreign intelligence operations, and whether national security or company secrets had been compromised. The board's statement says there is currently no reason to believe secrets have been leaked, and they maintain confidence in Jensen Huang continuing to lead the company; he himself promised full cooperation and will not interrupt his duties. The stock price fell by about 3-4% in overnight trading in response.

Under the House of Cards lens, this is not a simple matter of private morality. The relevant committees controlled by the new Democratic session have long listed "tech giants' associations with China, export control loopholes, and the personal vulnerabilities of Trump allies" as priorities. Jensen Huang is both a central figure of the AI revolution and an important ally of Trump; his personal relationships are now directly linked to export controls, chip flows, and national security. Once investigative power is triggered, it can expand from "whether secrets were leaked" to fiduciary duties of the board, compliance responsibilities, and even corporate governance structures. Jensen Huang's shareholding percentage is not high (no AB share structure), which makes the board's investigation more politically lethal.

More critically, Republican committee chairs (Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Special Committee on China) had already requested before the election that Jensen Huang attend a closed-door briefing on November 18 to explain his relationship with Alice Huang and the company's security measures; Democratic members also simultaneously stated they would follow up with investigations. The election results simply handed this already lit fuse completely over to the new majority party.

Parallel Investigations of Other Top Companies

The Democratic investigation blueprint is not only staring at Nvidia. According to reports, the new majority party has listed Apple, Meta, and Musk's companies as priority early targets, and a large number of preemptive inquiry letters have already been sent:

• Musk companies (xAI/Grok, Tesla, etc.): The House is preparing to investigate Trump's use of Grok to plan military operations to capture Venezuelan President Maduro, as well as federal cuts, government contracts, and political donation links during the DOGE period.
• Apple: Focus includes its hosting of ICE-related tracking apps.
• Meta: The practice of requiring local governments to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for data center development, and the impact of related data center expansion on electricity prices and public resources.
• Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.: Likewise involving data center NDAs, donations for Trump's White House ballroom (Apple and Nvidia were each alleged to have pledged 25 million dollars), algorithmic pricing, and government relations.

These companies received inquiry letters from Democratic members before the election; once the new majority is in place (the new Congress opens in January 2027), these letters can be upgraded to formal document requests, hearings, or even subpoenas.

Key Committees and Possible Actions

Incoming chairs will distribute these issues across different stages:

• House Committee on Oversight (expected chair Robert Garcia): Overall "corruption and Trump allies" investigations, including government contracts, donations, and policy exchanges.
• House Judiciary Committee (expected chair Jamie Raskin): Contamination of government decision-making, intersections of personal relationships and corporate interests, and broader law enforcement and data issues.
• House Committee on Energy and Commerce (expected chair Frank Pallone): AI regulation, data center energy costs, consumer protection, and "Big Tech" constraints.
• Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) (expected chair Richard Blumenthal): Corporate donations, NDAs, and data center transparency; there are already record requests for the ballroom donations.
• Intelligence-related committees: Export controls, chip flows to China, potential foreign intelligence penetration (the Nvidia incident fits highly here).
• Additionally, Democrats are discussing whether to establish a Special Committee on AI to concentrate fire on investigating the intersection of AI companies, data centers, and national security.

The themes are highly unified: affordability (electricity prices, data center costs), Trump-era "deals" (donations, contracts, policy conveniences), AI and export controls, and internal corporate governance loopholes. Even if final legislative space is limited (Trump still holds veto power), the investigation itself—hearings, subpoenas, media exposure—is the tool of power.

Currently, all allegations remain at the stage of intelligence assessments, inquiry letters, and board investigations. Nvidia emphasizes that no leaks have been found so far, and Jensen Huang continues at the helm; other companies are also preparing legal and PR responses. But in the hands of the new Congress, the investigation process itself is enough to place companies, individuals, and political opponents simultaneously under the spotlight.