Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz has postponed a classified briefing that was scheduled for early next week and was set to include Jeffrey Kessler, the undersecretary of Commerce who has come under scrutiny this week for his dealings with chipmaker Nvidia.
In an email sent to committee members reviewed by POLITICO, the Texas Republican’s staff said the private briefing on recent cybersecurity breaches, including the hacking of Hugging Face by rogue OpenAI agents, would be delayed. The briefing would have also covered potential congressional action to address the growing threats posed by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence policy.
That Cruz intended to hold the briefing on Tuesday had not been previously reported.
“The topics will include: Mythos (pre-, during, and post-), federal government awareness of non-public loss-of-control events (Hugging Face incident), and potential congressional action for new authorities, among others,” the email read. Mythos is an advanced Anthropic model thought to be capable of breaching previously secure cyber systems.
The briefing was set as lawmakers grapple with how to coalesce around legislation that would enact federal standards on AI safety and establish oversight of the quickly developing technology. But efforts to strike a deal on AI safety fell apart before the November midterms and are expected to return in earnest in the new Congress when Democrats will control both chambers.
Kessler, the Commerce undersecretary for industry and security, has emerged as a potential key figure in the Nvidia meltdown after the global chipmaking superpower fired CEO Jensen Huang this week after his affair with a alleged Chinese spy surfaced.
The New York Times reported this week that Kessler intervened in an internal Commerce investigation of Megaspeed, the Singaporean firm led by the alleged Chinese spy that is a major buyer of advanced Nvidia chips. Kessler’s portfolio includes AI export controls.
A spokesperson for Cruz did not immediately respond to a request for comment nor did a Commerce Department spokesperson.
The other administration officials listed as expected to brief senators included Ethan Klein at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Sean Cairncross, director of the Office of the National Cyber Director.
Asked by reporters Thursday about whether the panel would look into the Commerce Department’s role in the Nvidia story, Cruz said, “The Commerce Committee has engaged in vigorous oversight under Republican presidents and Democratic presidents.”
