Thursday, November 12 | By Abigail Walker and Claire Leibowitz
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PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MEAT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION
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It’s Thursday. Yes, only Thursday. What a week.
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- Jensen Huang steps down
- A second Starshield slowdown
- Warren to take on Wall Street
- Ballroom drama
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Michel Euler, Associated Press
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned Thursday morning following the revelation of two extramarital affairs, one with an alleged Chinese spy and another with an executive who reported to him.
The company, a powerhouse in the AI tech industry, announced his departure, adding that Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will take over as CEO in the interim.
“Jensen’s contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry,” Nvidia wrote in a press release.
Bad for business: The AI tech giant was trading shares at $243.37 on Oct. 6. But the bombshell reports have tanked Nvidia's stock price.
Following Huang's resignation, individual shares fell to $148.80, a 14.4 percent drop from Wednesday.
Early Wednesday evening, they dropped below $160, which was their lowest mark since June 2025.
What happened? The CEO on Sunday admitted that he had been "unfaithful" to his wife, following an Oct. 29 report from The New York Times that alleged he had been romantically involved with Alice Huang, a suspected Chinese spy and former executive at the Singaporean-based AI chip firm Megaspeed.
President Trump threw his support behind Jensen Huang, telling reporters, “I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on.”
💬 Follow today’s live blog
An open secret? As The Hill's Laura Kelly wrote, "Trump, at the last minute, brought [Jensen] Huang on board Air Force One to travel to Beijing in May — after Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed him the U.S. had sensitive intelligence that the Nvidia CEO was in a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, The New York Times reported."
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BIPARTISAN CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION
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The revelation has led to concerns about potential threats to national security and calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to investigate.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) called for Jensen Huang's resignation Wednesday night, telling CNBC’s Megan Cassella, “I can’t believe we are even considering him not resigning. I mean, I do feel that strongly about it."
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote Monday on the social platform X, “I’m pushing to investigate Jensen Huang and Nvidia to determine whether our national security was compromised."
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Second Starshield slowdown:
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Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Ukrainian military units reported significant Starshield satellite communication disruptions for several days, which have affected the front line and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
“This means more Russian strikes get through, and more of our people are killed by Russia,” Zelensky said on X. “We are trying to get the details from the American side, but so far, we know very little.”
Starshield, the military version of SpaceX's Starlink, also saw a slowdown in October. Ukrainian officials said the speed had been capped, cutting off drones and other equipment moving faster than about 100 mph.
It was later reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered the slowdown.
What's the deal?: The new disruptions come after the end of two-day peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, brokered by the U.S.
A Ukrainian official said there was no mention of disruptions during the talks, and it's not clear who made the decision, per Reuters.
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Hegseth survives impeachment battle, but Democrats want to win the war:
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Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not pass the House on Tuesday, in part due to unexpected traffic that stymied a handful of Democrats and prevented them from making it to the floor.
Beep beep: Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) on Wednesday shared a social media post apologizing for missing the vote.
“I am so sorry. There is no one who is more disappointed in myself than me that I was not here that the moment that gavel dropped, as the Republicans were trying to bury this impeachment of Pete Hegseth,” she said.
Four other Democrats — Reps. Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Marilyn Strickland (Wash.) and Brittany Pettersen (Colo.) — pinned their absences on traffic. There were 11 total Democrats who missed the vote.
Safe, for now: Hegseth's role is protected for now, but only until Democrats take over the House and Senate come January.
The Defense secretary also has an ally in new White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Democrats are divided on how to handle Hegseth going forward. Some are pushing to bring another round of impeachment articles, while others urge for more time.
“We need to take a long, hard look at what makes sense,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the incoming House Armed Services Committee chair, said Wednesday, according to Punchbowl News. “I think Hegseth has committed impeachable offenses. I think he should be removed, [but] what’s our best approach to achieve our broader objectives?”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has signaled that Smith would be one of the leaders in charge of any Hegseth impeachment proceedings next year.
The White House called the Tuesday vote a "massive victory" and said Trump and his team would not allow Democrats to "smear and demean an American patriot" like Hegseth.
🔎 Read The Hill's full report from Filip Timotija here.
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Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, advised his Republican peers to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the lame-duck session, believing it'd be difficult to pass in its current form during a Democratic-controlled Congress.
“I made it clear to some very senior administration officials that they should get this thing done in the lame-duck because it’s, you know, it’s going to be a very different 702 that gets reauthorized in the first quarter of next year, and, you know, I think they heard the message,” Himes told The Hill.
FISA gives the government free rein to spy on what it deems foreign threats, but as The Hill's Rebecca Beistch writes, "A growing number of Democrats, however, argue that the U.S. must rein in spy powers — citing distrust of President Trump’s use of such a powerful intelligence tool as well as Americans’ privacy rights."
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BLUMENTHAL AND THE BALLROOM
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Blumenthal and the ballroom: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) was warned on Wednesday by a top federal prosecutor to keep records related to his investigation into donors for Trump's $400 million ballroom project.
Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, wrote in a Wednesday letter that Blumenthal's investigation harassed private citizens and violated the constitutional rights of those who donated.
Reitz added that there would be “significant legal consequences" should the Connecticut senator not preserve records, adding in a post on X, “I’m taking the first step to stop this abuse of power."
Blumenthal shot back, calling the threat "baseless."
“This investigation into me for conducting a congressional inquiry is just the latest in a series of unlawful actions on the part of the Trump Admin attempting to intimidate Members of Congress for engaging in constitutionally protected activity,” the Democrat wrote in his own post on X.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is expected to lead the Senate Banking Committee in the 120th Congress, a position that would allow the progressive lawmaker to take on corporate America.
“Accountability is coming. If you’re a Wall Street executive, Big Tech CEOs, giant corporations that have been cheating people, you should be worried,” Warren said this week at a conference in Washington, D.C.
A banking committee aide told The Hill the Massachusetts senator hopes to “use the power of oversight to hold Donald Trump, his administration, and his cronies accountable for making life unaffordable for working people in order to line their own pockets.”
Sen.-elect Troy Jackson (D-Maine) told The Hill he has his sights on joining the committee and advised Warren to focus her efforts on affordable housing.
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— At least five people were shot in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., early Thursday, with at least one fatality. Police issued a shelter-in-place order and are responding to multiple locations in the neighborhood, roughly a mile north of the White House.
— The Interior Department announced its plans to sell public lands to "states, localities and Tribes" between 2026 and 2023. It added in its strategic plan that it intended to “consolidate its workforce" but did not provide further detail.
— Trump on Thursday blamed Senate Republicans over midterm losses, calling their moves "devastating." He pinned it on the SAVE America Act, which passed the House but not the Senate.
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The Associated Press: Two Iranian men found guilty by London court of spying for Tehran
The New York Times: Is Air Travel Getting Less Safe?
NBC News: Romanov sapphire bracelet sells for $4.9 million at Sotheby’s Geneva auction
Politico: Mexicans wary of Stephen Miller’s plans for them
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Dig into the midterm data yourself
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Explore 2026 election results, voting trends and historical comparisons with Decision Desk HQ, available through The Hill Insider Premium.
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST)
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3 p.m.: Trump participates in a policy meeting.
4 p.m.: Trump participates in a policy meeting.
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🥣 Celebrate: Today is National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day. Crack open the book series or make yourself a bowl — D.C. weather looks like we’re kicking off soup season this weekend, so start getting your recipes in order.
🏀 The Wizards lost to the Pacers last night, 114-101. We'll get 'em next time ... we hope ...
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As we wait for the Alaska Senate results to come through, here’s an Alaskan Malamute in the sun.
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