Lutnick faces blame as Nvidia chip scandal grows

The New York Times reports: Treasury Secretary Bessent says Commerce Department 'has the pen' on Megaspeed, while Republicans and colleagues turn on Lutnick

Corruption · 21 sources · November 13, 2026 at 6:07 PM

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is under mounting pressure from colleagues and Republicans after critics say he shielded Nvidia and stalled a crackdown on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based firm accused of illegally diverting Nvidia AI chips to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that several agencies favored placing Megaspeed on the Entity List for months, but that Commerce 'has the pen.' Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10. The scandal intensified after former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following revelations of an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence identified as a Chinese spy.

“Critics say Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and his department have shielded Nvidia as concerns have grown over A.I.”