Senator Cramer Says NVIDIA's Jensen Huang Must Go as Subpoena Talk Grows

Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican and senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, said late on November 10, 2026 that NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) chief executive Jensen Huang should resign, declaring in an interview: "I just think he's got to go."

Cramer's reasoning was direct. He argued that the risk of extortion against Huang is too great because NVIDIA's chips are so sensitive, and he characterized Huang's actions as a clear national security risk. Cramer said the board's internal investigation was "fine" but not nearly enough. NVIDIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The statement matters because NVIDIA's valuation depends on two things the source identifies explicitly: Huang himself and Washington's trust in the company's chips. The lawmakers now questioning both are the same legislators who write the rules governing China chip exports, and NVIDIA reports earnings on November 17, one week after Cramer's remarks.

What Happened to the Stock?

Cramer spoke after the market closed, so he did not cause Tuesday's decline. The damage had already been done. As of about 1:32 p.m. ET on November 11, NVIDIA shares traded at $177.46, up 5.07% from Tuesday's $168.89 close as chip stocks rallied broadly. The rebound does not repair the recent record: the stock remains down 22.6% over one month and down 14.14% over one week.

The cumulative loss is large. Between Friday's $186.64 close and Tuesday's close, roughly $429 billion in market value disappeared, including a 5.47% drop on Tuesday alone.

Wall Street has begun to reprice the leadership question. Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral and cut its price target to $200 from $500, citing uncertainty over whether Huang will stay.

Why Does One Senator's Interview Carry Weight?

Cramer's call is an opinion delivered in an interview, not an official action. NVIDIA's board holds the authority to remove a chief executive, and no committee had acted on Cramer's demand as of the report.

His seat matters for a specific legislative reason. The Senate Banking Committee has jurisdiction over the China chip bills currently under consideration for attachment to the defense authorization bill:

• The AI OVERWATCH Act
• The Chip Security Act
• The MATCH Act

These are the vehicles through which Congress could tighten restrictions on the very products NVIDIA sells, which links the political controversy directly to the company's commercial future.

The underlying facts, as reported by the source, are these. U.S. officials reportedly concluded that a businesswoman close to Huang was a suspected Chinese intelligence asset. China's foreign ministry calls the charges unfounded. Huang told employees he was unfaithful to his wife but gave no details. President Trump said on November 9 that he believed Huang had no idea.

How Is Pressure Shifting From Opinion to Subpoenas?

The House is moving faster than the Senate. Representative John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House China committee, said on November 11 that Huang is likely to be subpoenaed. Representative Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said he is prepared to issue one if Huang does not agree to a private briefing.

House Republicans have asked Huang to appear on November 18, the day after NVIDIA's scheduled earnings report. As of early Wednesday afternoon, no subpoena had been issued, and Huang had not replied.

The company's board is running its own track. It opened an independent probe on November 8 and said it had no reason to believe any secrets were compromised, adding that it retained confidence in Huang. The independent directors then hired Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the work.

The probe's limits are structural. It can establish what happened inside the company, but it has no say over how Congress treats NVIDIA, which leaves the legislative threat untouched regardless of the investigation's findings.

What Does the Selloff Already Price In?

Demand is a separate question from the scandal, and the numbers remain striking. NVIDIA has guided to third-quarter revenue of $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, and that figure already excludes China data center sales. At a price-to-earnings ratio (the share price divided by earnings per share) of 34x, the leadership risk shows up mainly in the multiple investors will pay, not in the revenue base.

Despite the political pressure, the source notes that no regulator, court, or board has taken action against Huang, and the business is still guiding to growth that few companies of any size can match.

The two real risks, according to the report, are tighter export rules and Huang's departure. The -14.14% one-week move already reflects a good share of both. The board has said it supports Huang, and he intends to stay on as chief executive.

Which Events Could Move NVIDIA Stock Next?

Three specific tests will determine whether the market's current pricing holds, according to the source:

1. Who leads the November 17 earnings call. Huang's presence or absence on the company's own earnings call would signal his standing inside the company.
2. Whether a subpoena is issued before November 18. Moolenaar's stated likelihood and Mast's conditional readiness both point to a narrow window tied to the requested House appearance.
3. Whether the stock closes below its March closing low of $165.17. The source treats that level as the threshold at which the market would be pricing in a CEO change.

The stakes for the broader AI sector are straightforward. NVIDIA supplies the chips that anchor the AI infrastructure buildout, and U.S. export policy toward China, currently embodied in the three pending Senate bills, will shape how large that market remains. A chief executive operating under a suspected-extortion cloud, as Cramer frames it, complicates both the policy conversation and the company's ability to defend its position in Washington.

For now, the board supports Huang, Huang intends to stay, and Congress has not yet compelled anything. The next six days, spanning the November 17 earnings call and the November 18 House request, will show whether that equilibrium holds.