John Kennedy

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Arena,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) stated that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent need to testify before Congress, along with former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and said that we need answers on “Why were they selling the chips? Did they follow the trail? How do they know the chips went to the company and not to the Communist Party of China?”

Kennedy said, “[A]pparently, the Department of Commerce greenlit the sale of $4 billion in advanced chips to the spy’s company. And I want to know — I don’t only want the CEO to come down, I’d like to hear from the Secretary of the Treasury, and, more to the point, the Secretary of Commerce. Why were they selling the chips? Did they follow the trail? How do they know the chips went to the company and not to the Communist Party of China? This whole thing is an intergalactic freak show. Here’s a man, head of one of the most powerful companies in the world, more than anybody else in the private sector, he’s been making AI policy for America, and, certainly, with respect to our relationship with China. And then we learn about this.”

Kennedy added that if he was Secretary Lutnick, “I would have called a press conference already. Now, I know he’s got to talk to his mates and his lawyers and all that. But I would have already called a press conference and told the American people, through the media, look, I’ll be here as long as you want, I’m prepared to answer all questions. And he hasn’t done that. Maybe he has a good reason not to. But he’s going to be called to testify in front of Congress.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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