Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang speaks with the media ahead of a meeting with the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called on Thursday for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify after President Donald Trump announced plans to greenlight sales of Nvidia's second-most advanced AI chip to China.

In a speech on the Senate floor, she also raised concerns that Trump could potentially silence his own Justice Department after it announced a crackdown on a smuggling operation of those same chips to China on the same day Trump announced the policy change.

"Will Donald Trump muzzle his own Justice Department because he does not want Americans to know that he is selling out our national security?" she asked.

The Commerce Department, the White House, and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China hardliners and Democratic lawmakers slammed the decision to greenlight the chip, known as the H200, over concerns that Beijing could harness the technology to supercharge its military.

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Nia Williams)