Nvidia CEO scandal shakes Washington

The personal scandal surrounding the CEO of the American company Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has turned into a political and security test in Washington after information was revealed about his relationship with a businesswoman suspected of working for Chinese intelligence, and three influential committees in Congress moved to investigate the possibility of American technology secrets being hacked, while US President Donald Trump chose to defend Huang.

The crisis became more complicated as Nvidia shares came under severe selling pressure yesterday (Monday), after its board of directors announced the opening of an independent investigation to determine whether the company’s president had been subjected to an attempt to target foreign intelligence.

Huang (63 years old) admitted in a letter to employees at the company that he had been unfaithful to his wife, and apologized to his family, colleagues and shareholders, but he did not admit to leaking confidential information or participating in intelligence activity.

Beijing, in turn, denied the accusations related to an attempt to target the president of NVIDIA as an intelligence agent.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll, completed on Monday, showed that US President Donald Trump's popularity is still near the lowest levels of his political career, influenced by nationwide fears of price increases that caused the defeat of his Republican Party in the midterm elections that took place last week.

According to Reuters, Trump's performance in the White House is supported by about 32 percent of Americans, unchanged from the two previous Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted between late October and early November. This number was one percentage point higher than the 31 percent support rate he recorded in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in mid-October, the lowest percentage in his political career.

Trump's Republican Party suffered a crushing defeat in the midterm elections that took place on November 3, as he lost control of both chambers of the US Congress. With some electoral contests remaining unresolved, Democrats achieved their largest victory in the House of Representatives since at least 2008, and seized seats in the Senate in states known for their conservative tendencies, including Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas.

The poll showed that only 21 percent of Americans praise Trump's management of the cost of living issue. The war he launched against Iran in February led to a sharp rise in fuel prices, which burdened families. Trump's low rating on the issue also hurt his allies in Congress.

The percentage of support for Trump on the immigration policy issue reached 38 percent, which is much higher than the 25 percent that Americans gave for his performance in managing the economy.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court paved the way for President Donald Trump's administration to resume construction of the border wall in the Big Bend area of ​​Texas at the present time, in a move that represents a blow to opponents from both the Republican and Democratic parties, who argued that the project represents a waste of money and threatens the unique nature of the region.

The border wall is one of the major projects of Trump, who has long pledged to build a wall extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

Republicans in Congress funded the project last summer with $46 billion, and US Customs and Border Protection is building border barriers at a rapid pace of 12 miles per week along the entire border.