Meet the Press NOW — November 11

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1:11Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker. House Republicans appear ready to pick a fight after picking new leadership that is fiercely loyal to the president, despite a devastating electoral defeat last week. That fighting spirit brewing among Democrats as well, with progressives ramping up pressure on leadership after the party's historic victories in both chambers. All of it raising the question, how much can actually get done to address the top issue that drove voters to the polls? Affordability. Yesterday, Republicans tapped Trump ally Congressman Jim Jordan to be their minority leader while keeping Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chair Lisa McClain in their current roles.

1:50The trio sounding defiant heading into the next Congress. House Republicans will fight for American families. When Democrats offer more government, we'll offer more freedom. And we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor, and on the stump every single day. To our colleagues on the left, enjoy this honeymoon phase. Because come January 3rd, 2027, you will regret ever putting your name on a ballot. We have one mission to earn back the trust of the American people and take back this house. It comes as Republicans are still assessing what went wrong last Tuesday. Today, members of the ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group that Congressman Jim Jordan helped found, argued Republican losses were a result of candidates who were too moderate.

2:45moderates lost a lot of seats in this cycle trying to please everyone and play it safe did not protect them this party needed a humbling from top to bottom we had an opportunity to go big and we didn't do that and now we're going home nobody listened to us everybody here was has been and was in for the fight to deliver for the american people but it's not because you know we didn't do enough liberal things that we had the result last Tuesday. But Senator John Thune, who will continue on as Senate Republicans leader next year, says part of their path to regaining the majority means acknowledging where his party went wrong with voters in the middle.

3:27The American people spoke loudly and clearly, and we need to internalize what they were saying, and that is that they care about economic issues, pocketbook issues, kitchen table issues, whatever you want to call them, namely the cost of living. We've got to start talking to independent voters. We lost them by over 30 points. You cannot make that up with just Republican votes. You've got to be able to talk to the people out there who in general elections are going to decide it. And largely that's going to be an economic message. And so we've got to get back to basics. Democrats have not yet held their leadership elections, but in the Senate, a growing number of lawmakers signaling they want a shakeup.

4:06At least a dozen incoming or current senators haven't committed to backing Senator Schumer for leader, or they've rejected the idea outright. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Senator Slotkin called for a new generation of leadership, arguing voters want a Democratic Party on offense. It's team fight versus team flight. Like, do you actually want to fight hard for the things that are going to help people? Or do you kind of want to just sit there and look like you're doing something. Status quo politics is not what the American people want. They want change. They want bold change. Joining me now to start us off, Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles, NBC's Monica Alba at the White House.

4:50Senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor has a look at the makeup of the incoming Republican conference. Thanks to all of you for being here, Ryan. And let me go to you on the Hill first. So you have both parties looking ahead to the next Congress. But there's still so much to get done in this one. We saw that failed impeachment vote for Secretary Hegseth yesterday. What is on deck for this new Congress? Well, Kristen, they have a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year. And some of it is must do. For instance, they need to fund the government. There's a deadline of December 12th that they have to have that done by.

5:24And they're not at this point making any meaningful progress to at least a short term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. But there's a number of other priorities. They have the farm bill that they have to deal with, the National Defense Authorization Act. Are they going to reauthorize the FISA program, the Warrantless Intelligence Surveillance Program? And there is also permitting reform that is also on deck. Republicans in the Senate have also made it a priority to push through as many judicial nominations as possible between now and the end of the year. because once Democrats take control, it will be very difficult to get Trump nominees through into judgeships.

5:59And so they want to get as many lifetime appointments off the deck before the end of the year. So they've got a lot of work to do, Kristen, and they don't have a lot of time to get it done. They sure don't. Jim Jordan set to lead Republicans in the next Congress. What does that say about the lesson that House Republicans are drawing from last week's results, Ryan? And what are you hearing? So there's a couple of ways to look at this, Kristen. First is that Republicans, as you very artfully pointed out there, do not believe that their issue is that they weren't moderate enough, that they weren't in the center enough.

6:30They feel like they didn't go hard enough to the right to convince their base that they needed to come out in droves and vote in this election. And picking someone like Jim Jordan as their leader is a reflection of that. He is a very conservative member. He is much more MAGA aligned than he is moderate aligned. But there's also a second layer to this, and that is that the House of Representatives is just not going to have that many Republicans that are going to be able to have an impact in a meaningful way on any sort of legislation that will be passed because they will have such a wide gap between the minority and the majority.

7:03their main opportunity to affect policy is going to be through the bully pulpit. It's going to be through giving speeches on the House floor. It's going to be through giving television interviews, digital videos, writing op-eds. And Jim Jordan is one of the conference's most effective communicators. He is good in those forums. He knows how to connect with voters and constituents in that frame. And so that will be one of his main responsibilities in this new Congress. Let's talk about Chuck Schumer now. Very strong words from Senator Alyssa Slatkin, Senator Bernie Sanders. Do you think his job is in danger, Ryan?

7:40Or given the fact that Democrats expanded their anticipated majority in the Senate, is he going to be safe? So don't clip this, Kristen. I mean, I guess you have no option. I guess you can. But I just find it very hard to believe that Chuck Schumer will not stay on as the Senate majority leader for a whole host of reasons. Listen, they're certainly grumbling there. And there are particularly this new class of Democratic senators who believe that their election mandate was not a reflection of Chuck Schumer, but in spite of Chuck Schumer. And they believe that this is voters calling and begging for a change.

8:13But Chuck Schumer was the architect of an overwhelming victory by Democrats, a historic victory. They're on pace to collect nine additional seats. Kristen, and this was on an impossibly difficult map. They won in places that Democrats have not won in a generation. And Chuck Schumer was a big driving force behind that. And sure, there have been quite a few outspoken members who have said that it's time for a change, but there are many more that are just keeping their mouths shut. And this is a closed door election that takes place behind closed doors. And I don't know that there's a truly another Democrat that's going to emerge as an alternative.

8:53Chris Van Hollen is kind of poking around at the idea, but he won't come out and definitively say that he'd like to challenge Chuck Schumer. The biggest reason for that is because he knows he doesn't have the votes yet. So a lot can change between now and the middle of December. But at this stage of the game, I'd still be very shocked if Chuck Schumer is not the incoming Senate majority leader. I don't know. It's a very clippable answer, Ryan Nobles. Thank you very much, as always, for your great reporting and analysis and insight. We really appreciate it, Ryan. Thank you. Monica, let me turn to you over at the White House.

9:24Look, it's not just the Republicans in the House that seem to be leading to the right. The White House is as well, obviously, Stephen Miller, the president's new chief of staff. And yesterday we saw some outgoing Republicans slamming the decision to make him chief of staff. Take a look. Well, I think he was pretty much the architect for some of the policies that resulted in a disastrous election for Republicans. Well, I think that's an epic fail. You go back and do a post-op on this election and look at where we lost on policy and almost every single case he had something to do with. Monica, Tom Tillis, not one to mince his words there.

10:06What are your sources saying inside the White House? Is there concern that putting Miller in this role could backfire? And not right now, Kristen. I have to tell you, they are very emboldened by this move. They're leaning into it. But it is at odds with even the president's own words a couple of days ago in that 60 Minutes interview where he did admit and conceded that some of those immigration policies were, quote, too tough and likely cost Republicans votes. So you have that on one hand and then this massive elevation of Stephen Miller on the other. How do those two things square? Well, that is the real conflict here.

10:42And it's unclear exactly how they plan to actually work with Democrats when it comes to immigration. I mean, the president back in his first term tried to do that. It didn't work. Ultimately, it got a little bit down the road before it ultimately collapsed. But in this Congress, with this kind of toxicity, with this kind of environment and real animus between both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, it seems very difficult to see how something will actually be accomplished. The president saying he wants to potentially pursue that up at his choices, his actions signaling perhaps that is unlikely. Kristen.

11:17Well, certainly, Monica. And the other thing that we're following out of the White House today, this warning to congressional Democrats who've said they're going to investigate the administration. Tell us a little bit about this, how it's unfolding. Yeah. And this is basically amounting to a threat from the White House counsel, Will Sharf, who did write in a letter to the incoming House Oversight Chairman Robert Garcia, basically telling him that he believed that Congress didn't have the right to go after all of these investigations, all these different probes into everything from the president's own family members, potentially to cabinet officials and beyond in the administration, saying essentially that they needed to drop those probes and those inquiries, saying that basically they were violating what they were supposed to be doing as lawmakers.

12:06While Congressman Garcia is basically saying, no, we don't get our permission from the White House to do these kinds of investigations. We get it from our constitutional right. And that is what we will be doing. So it just sort of shows you the acrimony here and how this is going to be a battle. The White House is bracing for it to be a pretty tough fight. They have beefed up the White House counsel's office overall. This has been a months long effort because they are ready for a lot more incoming. But that letter showing that they are prepared to sort of stand up to it in their own way with things like that.

12:38All right. Yeah, it does seem like they are gearing up for a big fight. Monica Alba, thank you so very much from the White House. Really appreciate it. Sahil, let me turn to, you know, so House Republicans picked Jim Jordan to run their conference in the next Congress. Talk a little bit about why Republicans who survived the blue tsunami picked this conservative firebrand. Walk us through it. That's right, Kristen. Jim Jordan is a nontraditional House leader. He hails from the far right wing of the Republican Party. He tried to become Speaker of the House, in fact, a few years ago, and he was blocked by moderate and center-right Republicans.

13:11So to understand why he just got elected leader now, let me show you what has happened to the conference, the Republican conference since the election. At the top bar are the districts that were decided by single digits, that Trump won by most nine and a half points. How many did Republicans have before the midterms? 28. What has happened in the midterms? A goose egg. They have zero seats that were decided by single digits. Now the seats that were nine and a half to 20 points, the double digit seats. How many did Republicans have before? 58. Now they have 39. They're down 19 seats that were expected to be pretty safe when there were double digits, 10 and up in this environment.

13:46Beyond that, you've got the very safe ones. This is sort of where the blue tsunami ends. The Republicans didn't lose seats here at the bottom. The number is reduced in part because of redistricting, we believe. So there you have the numbers. This is how Jim Jordan was able to win because these 130 members are now the crux of the House GOP. And they're from deep, deep, deep red districts where they never have to worry about losing to a Democrat, even in one of the biggest waves in a generation. Now, just to show you a visual representation, these are the Republicans, or some of them, who lost in 2026.

14:18They hail from all different wings of the party. Over here, Mike Lawler and Brian Fitzpatrick were the only two Republicans running in districts that Trump lost in 2024. They're out. David Valadea, the sole surviving Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump for January 6th. He lost re-election. Scott Perry, a former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, which, by the way, Jim Jordan is a co-founder of, he lost in his district. Max Miller, lost in part due to scandal. Rich Hudson, this is fascinating. He's the chair of the House GOP campaign arm, tasked with protecting the House majority. He ended up losing his own seat.

14:49And then you've got a couple committee chairs. The former Intel Committee chair, Mike Turner, lost his seat in a relatively safe district. Brian Stile, formerly the district speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, from years ago, he lost the House Administration Committee chairman. So this is, again, a visual representation of just how many Republicans lost from all different wings of the conference. It's just an extraordinary look at how Tuesday night played out, Sahel. And what are the implications for getting things done in this next Congress? Looks like it's going to have a big impact. So first, Kristen, let me show you a visualization of the blue tsunami.

15:23Heading into this election, this was this this was a seat breakdown. The single digit seats that were won by either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump by under 10 points. This is what they looked like. You see all that red. This is what happened in the election. Pretty much all wiped out. Nearly every one of those red seats has now flipped to blue. The one exception is here, Colorado's 3rd District, Jeff Hurd, and this is 9.7 points in the direction of Trump. So it's only single digits if we don't round. That is how deep, how deep into the battlefield the blue tsunami went and wiped out every Republican.

15:55Again, that's why you have someone like Jim Jordan, who appeals to the most conservative members of the conference, winning, because those are the ones who have survived. Those are the ones who are still left at this point. Now, this one conference called the Problem Solvers Caucus, it's a bipartisan group of members who like working together. They style themselves as, you know, the tip of the spear when you need to get both parties together in a room. This is what the Republican members were. Don Bacon, you see over there, is retiring. What about the others? These all ran for re-election. What happened to them?

16:21Bloodbath. A dozen of them lost. They're down to seven voting members of the Problem Solvers Caucus. So what does that mean for potentially working together? Is there going to be a bipartisan solution or is the next are the next two years going to be a knockdown, drag out political warfare? Kristen, that is the big question. And just looking at what happened to the House Problem Solvers Caucus says it all. Sahil Kapoor, thank you so very much for being at the big board for us and breaking all of that down. Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Susan Del Bene of Washington. She is also the chair of the Democrats Congressional Campaign Committee, which ran the Democrats midterm strategy.

16:56Congressman Del Bene, thank you so much for joining me. Really appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Well, we appreciate your being here on what I know is yet another busy day on Capitol Hill in this post midterm cycle. Let me ask you about the new House Republican leadership. Congressman Jim Jordan, of course, now minority leader. Congressman Tom Emmer Whipp, both hardline Republicans. And I want to play a little bit of what Congressman Emmer had to say yesterday. Take a look. To our colleagues on the left, enjoy this honeymoon phase because come January 3rd, 2027, you will regret ever putting your name on a ballot.

17:35This Republican leadership team will expose the Democrats' lies and show the American people their true colors as the radical communists that they are. Congressman, what's your reaction to that? And do you think you can work with Congressman Jordan and Emmer? I think they made it very clear that they were not willing to listen to the American people. The American people sent a strong, strong message all across the country that they reject the policies that Republicans have put in place that have hurt families all across the country. They've had broken promise after broken promise. They wanted folks who are going to stand up for them.

18:13And their votes spoke loudly, literally all across the country. So I think it shows that they haven't learned anything. They aren't listening to their communities or the American people. They are just stuck in being a rubber stamp for this administration. And come January, we're going to have a majority that actually represents the people and puts us back to be the people's house. Let me ask you about that majority, given that it is extensive. It's going to be big next year for Democrats. What is your measure for success? Is it passing legislation that President Trump can actually sign or is it putting legislation on his desk that represent Democratic values that he'll likely veto?

18:58Our goal is to make sure we put together strong legislation that is going to improve the lives of the American people, lower costs, help make sure that folks across our country have health care, undo the damage that was done in the big, ugly bill and the war. These are all end tariffs. These are top priorities that we have in place. And we're going to move strong legislation to benefit the American people and House, the Senate moving that forward, putting on the president's desk. It's up to the president whether he's going to listen to the American people or not. But public opinion has a big impact.

19:34And I think folks across the country were very clear with their opinion on what needs to happen. And we're going to do our job to make sure that we move that legislation and get that to the president's desk. What what leverage do Democrats have if the president refuses to comply, if he does threaten vetoes? Well, we do have the American people. And frankly, if Republicans don't want to hear what they have to say, they're going to continue to be held accountable for that by their constituents. And it's going to be up to the president of whether he wants to be clear that he refuses to listen to the voices of the American people.

20:08That's not going to stop us from moving legislation, from putting together a strong policy. And again, I think the voices of the American people, public opinion has a big impact on making sure that folks make the right decision. Then job one is to make sure we start that process. So your next task, if you will, is to choose a leader. A number of new members say they're not committed to supporting Leader Jeffries. Congresswoman-elect Malak Kuros of Colorado said this, quote, If there isn't a bold agenda that's going to be presented, then, yeah, we're going to need somebody who's actually going to be willing to fight for one like that.

20:46People are pissed, her word, and they'll also be pissed at us if we don't actually do something for them. What is your message to members who are skeptical of Leader Jeffries and not planning to vote for him? First of all, Hakeem Jeffries is going to be the next speaker of the House, a historic speaker, the first black speaker of the House. also someone who helped lead us to the majority now working with members across the country leading even in the minority to stand up for the american people and we have you know we the majority makers are battleground members folks who fought in these purple districts all across the country they understand how important it is to have a leader to make sure that makes sure we're moving policy to help the american people i have no doubt that across the board there's strong support and hot cream Jeffries is going to be our next speaker.

21:39All right. Well, I want to turn now to oversight. Obviously, that's been a big issue for Democrats as well. The White House is now warning your colleague, Congressman Garcia, writing in a letter that threats of congressional investigations could be illegal. What is your reaction to that, Congresswoman? Our job, a big chunk of our job is oversight. We are part of the checks and balances. We are independent branch of government, despite what people have seen from Republicans in the 119th Congress. And so that is part of our constitutional duty. We're going to do that oversight of the administration, calling officials in, making sure there's transparency and accountability.

22:21Clearly, they are scared of that and already lashing out. But that doesn't change our resolve or the important part of our job to do that, to do oversight and to make sure that the administration is held accountable. Let me ask you now about this effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Republicans blocked an impeachment resolution against him yesterday. Do you believe that impeaching and removing Secretary Hegseth should be a day one priority for Democrats in this new Congress? Well, I voted for the resolution yesterday. Now the legislation goes to the Judiciary Committee. The top Democrat we have and the future chairman, Jamie Raskin, will be in charge of moving that process forward.

23:04Again, it is critically important that we have leaders and absolutely when it comes to our national security leaders who are following the law and are standing up for our communities and the Judiciary Committee will be next in taking this up. But do you see it as a day one priority for the new Congress? Is it something that you think should be prioritized? Do I think it's a priority? I think it's a priority. I think number one priority for us is making sure that we are laser focused on addressing the challenges the American people are facing, lowering costs, addressing the fact that many people can't afford health care if they have it at all anymore.

23:43Top priorities for us, top priorities that we heard from folks across the country. But let's be clear, corruption from the administration is an affordability issue as well. Families are struggling when the focus isn't on the needs of our community standing up for our country and our communities, that's absolutely our top priority. Your colleague, Congressman Pete Aguilar, was on this program on Monday and suggested Democrats could potentially impeach more cabinet members, potentially HHS secretary, RFK Jr. Is that something you would support? So I think what you're going to see happen is we have many committees.

24:21Every committee is going to do its part to move legislation as well as do oversight. It is a piece of every committee that we have in the Congress to make sure that we understand what's happening. The administration is being transparent. And so that is part of the accountability effort is every committee doing that work. And I think you're going to see committee after committee start to take that up and do what they think is necessary to make sure that the administration is serving the needs of the American people. and that the rules and laws that Congress has put in place are being followed. All right.

24:56Well, before I let you go, I have to talk about your future. You're not going to be chair of the DCC next year due to term limits. You have served on the House Ways and Means Committee for nearly a decade now, Congresswoman. Are you looking to chair that committee? Well, first of all, there aren't term limits necessarily on the DCCC chair, but I have done two terms and it is time for someone else to take the helm. So I'm excited to support whoever the new DCCC chair is. And absolutely, I'm a member of the Ways and Means Committee, and I will have a gavel of some kind on a subcommittee in this next Congress.

25:31OK, so potentially chair? I will be a chair of a subcommittee in the next Congress. OK. All right. Congresswoman Susan DelBene, thanks so much for your time today. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, Democrats' dilemma. More on where the Senate leadership fight goes from here as the party faces pressure to deliver on key campaign promises in the new Congress. But first, NBC News takes you inside the room where some of the final outstanding ballots are being counted in Mississippi. The Senate battleground race is still too close to call more than a week after Election Day. We are on the ground in Jackson.

26:06Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press now.

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27:31Welcome back. Mississippi election officials are now in the final stages of counting ballots in the state's still undecided Senate race, where Democrat Scott Colom leads the incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by more than 4 ,000 votes now. Right now, absentee and provisional or affidavit ballots are being counted ahead of Friday's deadline for Mississippi counties to submit their certified election results. Senator Hyde-Smith late yesterday telling NBC's Ryan Nobles the race is not over. Are you concerned that maybe you took the voters in Mississippi for granted during this election cycle?

28:07They're still counting votes, so you don't know anything yet. How confident are you feeling at this point, Kim? They're still counting votes. NBC News correspondent Priscilla Thompson is in Jackson, Mississippi for us. Priscilla, thanks so much for being there where the action is. So where do things stand right now in this counting process? Yeah, Kristen, a lot of action here in Hines County today. And we just got an update from the Secretary of State's office. He says that 77 of Mississippi's 82 counties have already uploaded their uncertified results. So that means we're only waiting for uncertified results from five remaining counties.

28:46He also said just twenty three hundred mail in absentee ballots across the state remain to be processed. And that means that election officials will be looking at those ballots to determine if they were postmarked by Election Day and whether they're valid. And they will either accept or reject those twenty three hundred ballots and then submit those that are accepted as part of the count. And of course, there are also some counties here that need to count those provisional ballots over the past week. Voters have been bringing in their IDs to cure those ballots. And once those are accepted or rejected, the accepted ones will also be counted and become part of that statewide tally.

29:20So we are closer than we were yesterday, but still a ways to go. Kristen, we know, Priscilla, that the counties have until Friday to upload their certified election results. Is that essentially going to be the end of the ballot counting process? Could we know who won the race by Friday? Yes, Kristen, that should be the end of it right now. The secretary of state says that 23 counties have uploaded those certified results. And we saw some of that happening in Hines County today where they did all of their ballot counting. They got their uncertified numbers and now the election commissioners have to meet and just kind of go over those numbers to make sure they had 817 provisional ballots that were scanned here.

30:00They want to look at the results to make sure the results are adding up to that number. And then once they match all the numbers, they will go ahead and certify. They said they intend to do that here in Hines County, either today or by tomorrow at the latest, we're told. Well, let me ask you about what we're hearing from Mississippi's secretary of state who says his office is investigating reports of outside groups sending in so-called cure forms, basically forms for rejected mail-in ballots. What do you know about that allegation and how that's unfolding? Yeah, so the secretary of state posted about that on social media.

30:34We reached out to his office via phone, email. We even went to his office and spoke with his executive assistant, but we weren't able to get any details from him about that. And in fact, in the update, he just posted about a 10 minute long video. He didn't mention that investigation at all. I did speak with the attorney here for the Election Commission here in Hines County. And he says that those cure forms can really that's a process that can only be done by your local election officials. So a third party would really have no role in that. But of course, when we're looking at how close this race is and the potential for legal challenges, that could certainly be an issue that comes up again in this race.

31:10Absolutely. Have you heard of any legal challenges so far, Priscilla? We know that both parties and candidates have teams of attorneys on the ground here ready to challenge. They've been watching all of this accounting process take place. So it remains to be seen, but it could also come down to just how close this race is right now. Cologne is leading by about a 3 % margin. But if we do see that margin begin to increase to a point that might appear to be insurmountable, it's possible that some of those, the justification for some of those legal challenges go away. So we've got to wait and see what that final count will be, Kristen.

31:44Yeah, we have to wait and see. Priscilla Thompson from a blustery Jackson, Mississippi, where they're still counting the votes. Thank you so much. And an update now to the other Senate race that remains undecided, Democrat Mary Peltola, now leading Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by about 4 ,000 votes, but she is still shy of the 50 percent needed to win the race outright. The state is expected to release another bash of votes this week, which could help determine whether the race will ultimately move to the ranked choice stage. We will keep you updated on anything we learn there. Coming up next, who is Alice Wong, the alleged Chinese spy at the center of the NVIDIA affair scandal?

32:24We have new reporting and an update on the investigations into CEO Jensen Huang. Keep it right here on Meet the Press Now.

32:40Welcome back. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is facing mounting scrutiny on Capitol Hill over questions about his relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence has determined is a Chinese spy. Wong faces a deadline of today to agree to a closed-door briefing with lawmakers on three different House committees. The top Republican on the House Select Committee on China says Congress is prepared to subpoena him if necessary. What will you do if Mr. Wong doesn't comply with this request? All three committees have subpoena power. We want Mr. Wong to come and speak to us. We want to get to the bottom of this, have a better understanding.

33:19We understand he was set up, but we need to understand the degree to which American national security policy was affected by Chinese intelligence. Republican Senator Kevin Kramer says Jensen Huang should step down. I'm quite concerned about it. And what concerns me most is what we don't know. And I think that the issue itself is so fragile and so has the potential to be very explosive to the point where I just don't think he should be in the role for now, if not forever. President Trump told reporters Monday the FBI is investigating Huang's relationship with the alleged spy, Alice Huang. NVIDIA also announced it was conducting its own investigation into the matter.

34:11NBC News International correspondent Janice Mackey-Frayer has more on the woman at the center of this scandal that's engulfing a Trump ally and one of the most powerful men in the AI industry. The woman at the center of a suspected spy scandal involving NVIDIA's Jensen Huang remains somewhat of a mystery. Huang Le, known as Alice Huang, is a former tech executive with past jobs in finance and at China State Television. But U.S. intelligence determined the 42-year-old is also a Chinese spy, allegedly chosen to gather intelligence for China's Ministry of State Security. There's a lot that she could have gained from that interaction besides just access to DI chips, and it's important for us to figure out what exactly that was.

34:54China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed claims that Huang is a Chinese asset, telling NBC News at a regular briefing this week the allegations are a smear against China. Evidence of the relationship that has rocked the global tech industry is sprayed across the Internet. Images first showing the pair together in 2024, though it isn't clear when or how they first met. Sai Xin, a business publication here, named her husband and business partner as Kang Wei and said he was placed under investigation by Chinese officials earlier this year for fraud. It's Alice Huang's link to a Singaporean registered company called Megaspeed that's raising questions from U.S.

35:32authorities. Since, according to Bloomberg, the company bought billions of dollars in NVIDIA Advanced chips that the U.S. government suspected were being diverted to skirt the U.S. ban on sales to Chinese companies. But Megaspeed was never barred from buying U.S. tech. The scandal and lack of details about Alice Wong's background highlight how access to advanced chips is driving the U.S.-China race to build AI data centers. Jensen Wong is also a close advisor to President Trump on AI strategy. I'm here to support the president. But he now faces calls to brief lawmakers on his intimate ties to an alleged spy.

36:13And that was Janice Mackey-Frayer reporting. We thank her for that. Jared Perlow covers AI for NBC News. He joins me now. This is a massive scandal. Jared, NVIDIA, obviously one of the most important companies in the AI industry. And so much of its fate is tied to one person, Jensen Huang. Talk about the implications of that. There are gigantic implications here, Kristen. So just to set the stage a little bit, NVIDIA seems to have around 80 to 90 percent of the market share when it comes to the most advanced AI chips. And everybody I talk to throughout the AI industry, from companies to politicians, they all say the same thing.

36:50They can't get their hands on enough NVIDIA chips specifically because they are the top of the line product out there. Now, when thinking about what happens to Jensen Huang, we don't really know what comes next. There's such a unique corporate structure at Nvidia, where Jensen has 60 direct reports. So this isn't like a usual Fortune 500 company where you have teams of senior vice presidents and regular vice presidents below them. Instead, Jensen reads thousands of emails a day and then has these meetings with all these 60 direct reports. So what does Nvidia look like without Jensen Huang? It's really hard to say.

37:21Again, he founded the company back in 1993 and grew it to, at one point, have it be the world's most valuable company. So my sources aren't really sure what happens if Jensen is forced out. We for Jensen to step down, even labeling him a fool. So there's certainly growing calls for him to step down, as you also just heard from Congress there. Absolutely. Well, let me ask you about the potential future of NVIDIA itself. What if it is determined that Jensen Huang has been compromised by a Chinese spy? What does that mean for NVIDIA's fate? Well, again, there's a lot we don't know, but the way I've kind of been describing this is imagine you're thinking of car manufacturers and you have Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, everything rolled into one.

38:01That's essentially what we have with NVIDIA here. I don't know if it's right to call them too big to fail, but they are the most advanced chip company out there, and all the other AI chip companies are several years behind in terms of their designs, in terms of their technological skill. The closest competitor is a company called AMD, but most of the experts I talk to say that they're not really in the same league as NVIDIA. So there are gigantic open questions about who would replace Jensen, who would provide that creative vision and product strategy that Jensen has provided over these 33 years.

38:35Again, he came to the U.S. when he was nine years old without speaking English and saw essentially the AI wave years before it happened. So I think many NVIDIA investors and some people that I talk to don't want to see him go because they say, you know, look what he's done for us so far. Well, you know, let me ask you about this aspect of it. The Commerce Department has what's called an entity list. It's basically blacklists U.S. companies from trading with companies on that list. So how does the Commerce Department determine who's on that list and what are the potential penalties for doing business with companies on it?

39:10Yeah, well, it sounds like a piece of bureaucratic jargon, but the entity list is actually maybe one of the hottest things in Washington right now. We actually just heard there's new reporting from Axios that says there was essentially a fight in the White House recently because President Trump wanted to add new companies, new organizations to this entity list, to this blacklist. But there is some disagreement from the Department of Commerce about who should be added. So just taking a step back, this entity list, it functions as a blacklist of companies or organizations that pose or are believed to pose significant national security threats to the U.S.

39:43and entities, companies on that list can't receive valuable U.S. technology. So many Chinese companies, They're on that list because the U.S. doesn't want to send these most valuable NVIDIA chips to those companies. That's why the entity list is at the heart of this battle. Well, it's just an extraordinary series of developments. We continue to follow it. I know you are tracking it very closely. Jared Perlow, thank you for joining us with all of your great reporting. We really appreciate it. And you can dive deeper into our latest reporting with expert insights, exclusive video and inside access to our reporters on the ground by downloading the NBC News app and subscribing right now.

40:18Just scan the QR code on your screen or visit NBC News dot com slash subscribe. And we'll be right back with much more. Meet the press now.

40:31Welcome back. Democrats emboldened by their midterm wins are looking for their next leaders, both in the next Congress and beyond. On the Senate side, Senator Chris Van Hollen says he's in active listening mode as he weighs a potential challenge to Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader. Take a listen. You're open to the idea of running for majority leader.

40:57Let's face it, there was also a clearly an anti-Washington establishment tone to this to this election. And so that is why I am now actively listening to people who are looking for that kind of change. And as we've said, it comes as a number of both new and incumbent senators have called for new leadership in the Senate. Joining me now is our panel, NBC News senior national politics reporter John Allen, Democratic strategist and founder and CEO of Bellwether Strategies, Arshi Siddiqui, and Republican strategist Matt Gorman. He's also an NBC News contributor. Thanks to all of you for being here.

41:38A lot to unpack as these leadership battles unfold, John Allen. What do you make of what we're hearing from Chris Van Hollen? And Leader Schumer, pretty defiant, says he's confident he's going to get the votes. I would say that's pretty acrobatic for Chris Van Hollen to talk about being from outside Washington and people being angry at Washington. He's the son of diplomats who lives about a stone's throw from the Capitol Beltway and has been in Congress for a quarter of a century. But you know what? If you can pull that off, more power to him. I talked to Senator Ruben Gallego, who's a Schumer supporter today, but he said he had not heard from Van Hollen.

42:16Van Hollen had said he was making calls through the caucus. I think what is likely to happen is if Chris Van Hollen makes those calls and determines he can't win, he is likely to not run. Because he's not going to want to vote that shows a score of losing to Schumer if that happens. You know, stranger things have happened, but Schumer just led them into the majority. he has done favors for all of the people in the Senate. And I think it's very unlikely that he will lose a leader race. Yeah. I mean, Arshid, I think that's a good point. At the end of the day, Chris Van Hollen's got to determine, and anyone who wants to challenge Senator Schumer has to determine if they actually have the votes.

42:56Incoming Senator, Senator-elect Abdullah al-Sayed was asked about this. Let's take a look at what he had to say. I do think that this moment calls for a different kind of leadership. You know, when my state spoke up, they were asking for money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all. They wanted action. And I think this is just a moment for us to be able to pivot with what our collective states have been telling us that they want. How do you see this unfolding? I mean, do you think there's going to be a real challenge? You heard what Senator Slotkin had to say, Senator Sanders.

43:29Absolutely. So I think for it's telling that Senator Van Hollen was saying actively listening. He's not saying running. And I think we all know when you are going after a job like that, it takes a lot of groundwork and it takes a lot of energy and you have to really want it. So that says it all for me there. I think, you know, the senator-elect is doing his job. He came from a very, I think we saw in Michigan, the excitement, the energy. So he's doing his job. But for Leader Schumer, I think in some ways, This might backfire on those who are organizing against him in the sense that he's going to come out stronger, very likely.

44:04He is the arc. No other Democrat is more responsible for this majority than Schumer. It's hard to argue, Matt, and I know you're not a Democrat. We're going to get to the Republicans. Just you wait. But I do want you to weigh in on this. Let me play a soundbite from Senator John Fetterman, who's obviously broken with his party. He's not afraid to criticize his own party. But take a look at what he had to say about this debate. If Chris Van Hollen decides to challenge Schumer, would you be open to him as well? I dare him to. And if you want to go down, that's fine. Doesn't sound like he's going to get his support.

44:38I mean, the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chris Van Hollen and any other job he currently has. I was on Meet the Press when he suddenly announced he was thinking about running for president like two months ago. And John's exactly right. If you're screaming anti-Washington, Chris Van Hollen is the last person to do it. I guess I'm just kind of I'm it's mind boggling to me that Democrats had this incredible election, tons of power going back on their side. And one of the first things they seemingly want to do is ditch the leaders. It's just it's mind boggling to me. And also the one of the big points about this is it's a secret ballot.

45:12So people always can claim I'm for I didn't vote for Schumer. And then it never comes out in the wash. You don't actually have to go on the record like you do, for example, for Speaker of the House. Arshi, wait on that point, because you're looking at the Republicans. They just reelected Leader Thune for minority leader of the Senate. Obviously, a different situation unfolded in the House. But what about that, that there was just this massive victory and now people are going after Schumer? One of the main reasons why they had such a big victory. I think there's a real challenge for Democrats going forward in the sense that the weight on them is very heavy to really deliver for voters.

45:46I mean, that's one thing in this election. It was so clear that voters really are struggling, they're hurting, and getting something over the finish line. So I think in some ways, some of this discussion is good because folks, the members are going to align a little bit more about what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. And I think Schumer's going to come out of this much stronger than where he started. John Allen, let's talk about the Republicans. You have Jim Jordan, Tom Emmer, really striking a defiant tone. It seems like they're gearing up for a big fight. Is anything going to get done in Washington over the next two years?

46:18A lot of fighting. I think, look, I mean, you talked about the Senate. The Senate sent a clear message to the president and the rest of the country, the Senate Republicans, that they don't think that the Senate Republican leadership is at fault for the election losses. They think Donald Trump is because they kept leaders in place. In the House, you got a much different situation. You had Mike Johnson, kind of an accidental speaker. They are preparing for a fight. They are preparing to defend President Trump. That's the road they want to go down. President Trump Trump sounds more conciliatory than any of the House Republican leaders do right now.

46:49And look, that's what the House does. You know, it's a contrast body. Except the Stephen Miller decision. I was just going to say, except he did appoint Stephen Miller as his chief of staff. Now, those who are close to the White House say, well, look, Stephen Miller is going to execute on what the president wants. But how do you see this period unfolding? First of all, being minority leaders, a very easy job, especially in the House. All you have to do is say no. The floor and the House is governed by the majority. So all you have to do is keep your caucus relative united, say no, and Jim Jordan will be all set.

47:19So I don't think it's going to be that much of a heavy lift there. I also think, look, everybody's saying the right things now on both sides. We all have seen this game before. I just don't anticipate anything getting done over the next two years, especially as investigations start, subpoenas start flying. That'll poison the well. And also you have a presidential primary on both sides that is going to infect the debate. They're not going to be able to make a deal with either side. Well, you take me beautifully to the next point I'd like to raise, which is this big conference this weekend, Arshi.

47:45It's called What's Next? Democrats are going to gather in Denver. A lot of 2028 hopefuls. What are you going to be watching for there? I think the debate and the different visions for America in the future is critical. So I think I'm excited about it because I think this next presidential primarity will will set a course for Democrats. That's that's a little bit overdue, given the challenges ahead. Yeah. What are you going to be watching for? I mean, it's the first cattle call. And what I learned doing three of these things, being on paper, everybody can look impressive. Everybody can look a certain way.

48:16You actually get out there, meet voters, meet the press, no pun intended. That's when it actually first starts to fly. And I think that is when people get separate themselves. Yeah, John, you have two of the folks who are going to be out there, former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Governor Westmore, who are just out with new books. Kind of the first entrance or step, if you will, into taking that run for president. What are you going to be watching for? How do you see this moment? Yeah, I think the most interesting thing going forward, and this is part of that start, is how do the Democrats translate what they just want on this message of affordability into actual policy?

48:52because for such a long time, for the last decade, what has unified Democrats is being against Donald Trump. And so the question for them going forward is, how do they make things more affordable? And which of these candidates are going to have a vision? Arcee talked about a vision. I think it's got to be something between Elizabeth Warren's I've got a plan for everything, which becomes easy to attack, and Bernie Sanders' note card of like four points. But I do think Democratic voters are going to be listening for what is it that they're going to do to make the world more affordable. They can't just snap their fingers and make gas prices come down or make grocery prices come down.

49:25They can't make housing more affordable. Some of the ideas are things like capping credit cards at 10 % interest, which would make it a lot harder for people who need to buy things to borrow, right? So let's see what these visions actually look like. Let's see. We're going to be listening closely this weekend. Thank you so much for a great conversation, John, Arshi, and Matt. Really appreciate it. And still to come, tributes and ceremonies all across the country honoring America's veterans. You're watching Meet the Press Now. Stay with us.

50:01Welcome back. Today is Veterans Day, a day where we honor the men and women who have served in our nation's military and honor their sacrifice and service. In towns across the country, people line the streets to celebrate their local veterans with parades. In the nation's Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson led a bipartisan tribute on the steps of Capitol Hill. And at Arlington National Cemetery, President Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before delivering remarks where he praised America's veterans while touting the actions of active-duty military members.

50:38To every veteran here at Arlington and across the nation today, we render you the highest salute. we offer you our deepest respect and love and we pledge you our utmost loyalty and devotion. In Venezuela, we won the war in 48 minutes and in one of the most stunning displays of military dominance and power the world has ever seen. And Iran, where we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, the B-2 bombers, they took them out. We began operations against Iran seven months ago, of which only a few weeks were active, hard fighting. We lost 18 beautiful souls. But when this conflict is over and it will be soon, the entire world will be a much safer and better place.

51:30To the victor belong the spoils, they used to say. But you can say it again with us under this leadership. And from everyone here at Meet the Press, a heartfelt thank you to all of our veterans and their families for their service to this country. We are back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now and a reminder to join me every Sunday for Meet the Press on your local NBC station and on NBC News Now, streaming every Sunday at noon, 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern. There's more ahead on NBC News Now. It's the holiday season at House of Burrell, which means that it's the perfect moment to review some key rules.

52:09Rule number five, more style means more celebration. Number four, buy gifts, but remember to treat yourself too. Number three, there is no dress code, but always leave them talking. Number two, show off different outfits. No party remains unattended. And rule number one, have it all without spending it all. Happy holidays from House of Burl, Burlington.