White House weighs Lutnick's future as Nvidia chip scandal engulfs Commerce
23 Sources
[1]
US Senate Banking Committee chair calls on Jensen Huang, Lutnick to testify
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 - US Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab former CEO Jensen Huang asking them to testify over recent developments at the company. Huang stepped down from Nvidia, one of the
[2]
Lutnick Took a Softer Line on Nvidia as Calls for Tougher Controls Grew
Critics say Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and his department have shielded Nvidia as concerns have grown over A.I. chip sales to firms like Megaspeed. There is broad agreement among most senior Trump administration officials that the United States should more aggressively tighten
[3]
White House discussing Howard Lutnick's future as Commerce secretary, people familiar say
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out in the wake of the spy scandal surrounding Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab now former CEO Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation said on
[4]
After Jensen Huang is Howard Lutnick the prime target of national security inquiry?
When questioning the motives of certain public leaders, the Roman orator Cicero was said to have used as a shorthand, "cui bono?" meaning, whose interests come first? That line rings true as Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick falls under rapidly escalating bipartisan scrutiny over his role in the
[5]
White House reportedly discussing Howard Lutnick's future as Commerce secretary
Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out in the wake of the spy scandal surrounding Nvidia's now former CEO Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday. In June, Reuters reported that the Trump
[6]
Lutnick should have prevented the diversion of sensitive Nvidia AI chips to China, critics charge
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is under fire by critics asking whether his ties to Chinese companies and friendship with Nvidia's ousted CEO Jensen Huang contributed to the federal agency's lack of oversight over billions in Nvidia AI chip sales, CBS has learned. Before President Trump
[7]
Howard Lutnick Could Be Both The Fall Guy In Nvidia Spy Scandal And An Easy Target In Probes
Other Trump administration officials have blamed the commerce secretary for the AI chip affair, even though the president admitted that he ignored warnings. WASHINGTON - Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has survived questions about his time on deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's private
[8]
Huang's China affair may fix Howard Lutnick, the man who wanted to fix India
Howard Lutnick faces a precarious future as the US commerce secretary, as divergent policies surrounding AI chip sales come into play. With Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointing fingers at Lutnick for delays in sanctioning the China-affiliated Megaspeed, things heat up. Complicating matters
[9]
White House weighs Lutnick's ouster amid Nvidia export concerns, sources say
WASHINGTON - Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out amid a spy scandal surrounding Nvidia's now-former CEO Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday. A growing number of lawmakers criticized Lutnick for
[10]
Trump's Commerce Chief Lutnick Criticized Over Chip Exports After Nvidia CEO Resignation
Trump's Commerce chief Lutnick criticized over chip exports after Nvidia CEO resignation. WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A growing number of lawmakers are criticizing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the administration's refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist,
[11]
US Senate panel seeks testimony from Jensen Huang, Commerce Secretary Lutnick over China spy concerns
US Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify over national security concerns, alleged Chinese espionage and oversight of chip exports to China. Scott warned he could subpoena Huang, as lawmakers intensify
[12]
Commerce Dept's Lutnick, Kessler under fire over inaction on Nvidia's Megaspeed 'spy' fiasco
Howard Lutnick's Commerce Department is facing major heat over its failure to crack down on Megaspeed - the Chinese AI firm at the center of the spy scandal that prompted Nvidia boss Jensen Huang's shock resignation on Thursday. Huang was having an affair with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang, an
[13]
Jensen Huang to Face US Lawmakers Over Reported China Connections
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has agreed to meet with US lawmakers following questions about his reported connections to a Chinese businesswoman suspected of passing information to Beijing. Congress also wants to examine NVIDIA's customer screening procedures, chip export safeguards and approach to
[14]
Senate seeks Huang, Lutnick testimony over Nvidia probe, Politico reports By Investing.com
Investing.com -- Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has requested testimony from former Nvidia Chief Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at separate congressional hearings next month, Politico reported on Friday, as lawmakers step up scrutiny of national security
[15]
Howard Lutnick under fire after Nvidia scandal
The White House is reportedly considering parting ways with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick amid internal tensions over US restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. According to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the matter, several senior White House officials are discussing Howard
[16]
Jensen Huang summoned to testify before US Senate committee
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Nvidia's former CEO Jensen Huang asking them to testify over recent developments at the company. Huang stepped down from Nvidia, one of the major engines behind the AI boom, after
[17]
White House discussing Howard Lutnick's future as Commerce secretary, people familiar say
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out in the wake of the spy scandal surrounding Nvidia's now former CEO Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday. A growing number of
[18]
Lutnick faces questions over Nvidia spy scandal. His sons' firm has deep ties to the chipmaker
* Cantor Fitzgerald's reported Nvidia share count fell by nearly half between September 2025 and March 2026, a CNBC analysis found. * That was the period when Axios reported Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faced pressure from administration officials to address suspected smuggling of Nvidia's
[19]
Bessent Blames Lutnick's Commerce Dept. for Nvidia Scandal
The Treasury secretary says Howard Lutnick's Commerce Department ignored months of warnings about Nvidia chip sales to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to blame the Commerce Department for failing to act on the Nvidia espionage scandal sooner. Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was
[20]
Political fallout widens in Nvidia spy scandal
Washington (United States) (AFP) - The political fallout from the Nvidia spy scandal spread to President Donald Trump's cabinet on Friday, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly blamed the Commerce Department for failing to blacklist a Singapore company suspected of funneling powerful AI
[21]
Why Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Is Under Pressure for Nvidia Ties
Lawmakers and even a fellow Cabinet member are criticizing the commerce secretary for his lack of oversight of the tech company's chip sales to China. Lawmakers - including some key Trump allies - are pressuring Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on his connections to fallen Nvidia CEO Jensen
[22]
Trump's Cabinet Is in Disarray Over Nvidia's Honeypot Disaster
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took it easy on disgraced CEO Jensen Huang. His colleagues aren't happy There's a bitter war over trade policy underway in the back rooms of the Trump administration that pivots on an unlikely fulcrum: one tech CEO's inability to keep it in his pants. By now,
[23]
Anthony Scaramucci Rips Howard Lutnick Over Nvidia Chip Crackdown: 'Incompetence Is Random. This Broke Th
On Thursday, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's alleged resistance to cracking down on suspected Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) chip-smuggling networks. Scaramucci Questions Lutnick's Nvidia Export Controls In a post on X, Scaramucci said that
Share
Copy Link
White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out. The Nvidia China chip scandal has put his department's year-long export-control freeze at the center of a bipartisan storm.
Senior White House officials are weighing whether to push Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick out of his job, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the Nvidia China chip scandal engulfs the department that decides what advanced American technology reaches Beijing
3
. No decision has been announced, per the reporting, and Lutnick remains in post.
Source: New York Post
The discussions began the same day Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive of Nvidia, the dominant US AI chipmaker he co-founded
3
2
. Huang stepped down Thursday under pressure from the board, per HuffPost, after word spread of an affair with Alice Huang and then of relationships with subordinates10
7
. Alice Huang, no relation to Jensen, is a top executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, and US authorities suspect her of spying for China10
6
. Per the Times, Nvidia's statement did not address his actions, and its shares fell on the news2
.
Source: Japan Times
The company at the center of it
Megaspeed has spent more than $4.8 billion on Nvidia's top AI chips since June 2024, and US authorities suspect it of illegally diverting them to China
10
6
.The spy allegation is not new inside the government. This spring, Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw a classified assessment based on surveillance of Alice Huang. Beijing, the assessment found, may also have wanted Nvidia steered toward lobbying for greater access. Lutnick was among the senior officials who received the memo before Trump's May trip to China
4
. The allegation remains just that. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday the Justice Department has reached no conclusion on whether Alice Huang is a spy, and China denies she is one1
.'Commerce has the pen'
Commerce has not added a single company to the Entity List, the US blacklist of firms barred from buying sensitive American technology, since October 2025. The freeze is the longest gap between additions in more than a decade, per Reuters reporting. The State Department, Treasury, Energy and the Pentagon repeatedly proposed adding Megaspeed and dozens of other Chinese firms, including DeepSeek and Changxin Memory Technologies
10
4
.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Treasury, War (the Pentagon), the US Trade Representative's office and State had all favored listing Megaspeed for months, "but commerce has the pen." He said he was frustrated by any leakage of Nvidia chips above the H100 to China
8
. Axios reported that Trump approved a crackdown on chip diversion three times, in May, August and again on November 5. Lutnick and his deputies resisted carrying out each order, per that account, while virtually every other official supported it4
.The Megaspeed probe itself stalled in 2025, per the New York Times. Commerce's own agents had opened it in 2024 under Biden. In 2025 Nvidia's general counsel emailed the agents citing permission from export-control chief Jeffrey Kessler. Per Fortune, the investigation was soon paused; the Times reports it was abruptly transferred to the Justice Department, which would not comment
4
6
. Reuters has reported that Commerce avoided the additions for fear of escalating tensions with Beijing. Lutnick's public rationale was that the US should sell Chinese developers enough advanced chips to get them "addicted to the American technology stack"10
8
. Chris McGuire of the Council on Foreign Relations put it bluntly: "The real scandal here is the lack of enforcement of export controls." Commerce knew for about a year that Megaspeed was run by a suspected spy, he said, "and they did nothing"6
.The president's cover
Trump has publicly stood by Lutnick, telling Hugh Hewitt the intelligence assessment of Alice Huang "didn't make much of an impact on me" and calling Jensen Huang "going through hell" and "a tremendous talent"
10
7
8
.
Source: HuffPost
Trump's own record complicates the blame story: he authorized Nvidia to sell its most advanced chips to China in December 2025, with the government taking a share of the revenue
10
. Reuters reported that Commerce cleared about 10 Chinese companies to buy them in May4
. He was briefed on intelligence suggesting Alice Huang was a Chinese asset about a year ago, per the Times' reporting, and has admitted he ignored the warnings6
7
. Huang was also a Trump ally who, HuffPost reported, donated $25 million to the president's ballroom project while lobbying to loosen chip restrictions7
.Related Stories
The dates are already set
Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott sent letters Thursday asking Lutnick and Jensen Huang to testify, said he would consider subpoenaing Huang, and scheduled a public hearing for December 3. In his letters, he cited "serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology"
1
. Three House Republican chairs have asked Huang for a closed-door joint interview on December 11
8
.The criticism crosses party lines. Senator John Kennedy asked how officials know the chips went to Megaspeed "and not to the Communist Party of China." Lutnick, he said, "needs to answer that in front of God and country"
7
8
. Senator Tom Cotton has urged barring the memory-chip maker from the US market, and Representative Brian Mast wants Congress to investigate Commerce's role in approving exports10
4
. Incoming Democratic chairs Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have demanded preservation of all documents on Nvidia's China exports. They take committee gavels in January, with subpoena power10
7
.A White House official said this week that the president "maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position"
10
. Lutnick is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 101
.References
Summarized by
Navi
[3]
Related Stories
Recent Highlights
Recent Highlights
Today's Top Stories
Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Follow topics that matter to you and stay ahead.
