What We Know About the Nvidia Spying Scandal Engulfing Lutnick

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Commerce Department, run by Howard Lutnick, is the reason the United States has not imposed export restrictions on certain Nvidia chips sold to China, as pressure builds inside the Trump administration over its handling of the Nvidia spying scandal, according to The Guardian.

What triggered the Nvidia spying scandal?

Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia on Thursday after reports surfaced of multiple affairs, most notably with a woman named Alice Huang — no relation — who is suspected of being a Chinese spy, the Guardian reported. Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, has taken over on an interim basis. A US intelligence report detailing Huang's relationship with the alleged spy had already been circulated among senior Trump administration figures before the resignation, the Associated Press reported, raising the question of who in government knew what, and when.

Why is Howard Lutnick facing pressure now?

White House officials are discussing whether to fire Lutnick, according to the AP report cited by the Guardian. The commerce secretary is also drawing criticism over a delay in adding Megaspeed — a Singapore-based company associated with Alice Huang — to the US blacklist of firms considered national security risks, despite what the Guardian describes as reported concerns within the administration about the company. Megaspeed has purchased billions of dollars of Nvidia chips in recent years, the Guardian reported, though a precise dollar figure was not specified in the available reporting.

What did Scott Bessent say about Lutnick's department?

Bessent told CNBC that he has "for months" favored putting Megaspeed on the export blacklist, but that responsibility for the decision sits elsewhere.

"Lutnick's commerce department 'has the pen.' You will have to ask them about their..." — Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, to CNBC

The quote, as reported by the Guardian, places direct responsibility for the blacklist delay on Commerce rather than Treasury, marking a rare public break between two cabinet officials over a national security matter tied to the Nvidia chip trade with China.

What happens next for Lutnick and Huang?

Lutnick is scheduled to testify before Congress next month. His appearance comes just days after Huang, the ousted Nvidia chief, is set to answer lawmakers' questions on Capitol Hill, according to the Guardian's reporting. The sequencing means lawmakers will hear from the former Nvidia chief executive about his relationship with the alleged spy before Lutnick is asked to explain why Commerce had not restricted chip exports or blacklisted Megaspeed. Whether the White House moves to remove Lutnick before that testimony remains an open question; the Guardian reports only that internal discussions about his future are underway.

What is Megaspeed and why does it matter?

Megaspeed is a Singapore-based firm the Guardian identifies as associated with Alice Huang, the woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset. The company has bought billions of dollars worth of Nvidia chips, according to the Guardian, which is why its absence from the Commerce Department's restricted-entity blacklist has become a focal point of the scandal. Adding a company to that blacklist generally cuts off its ability to buy controlled US technology without a license. Bessent's comments suggest internal administration debate over Megaspeed predates the public disclosure of Huang's affair, meaning the chip-export question and the personal-conduct question are now politically entangled even though they are legally distinct.

Key figures and dates

• Nov. 12, 2026: Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia chief executive; Colette Kress named interim CEO.
• Sept. 2, 2026: Huang and Lutnick appear together at the G20 innovation ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
• "For months": How long Bessent says he has pushed to blacklist Megaspeed, per his CNBC remarks.
• December 2026: Both Huang and Lutnick are scheduled to testify before Congress, with Huang's appearance preceding Lutnick's by days.

The core dispute, as laid out in the available reporting, is narrow but consequential: Bessent says Treasury wanted Megaspeed blacklisted months ago, and that Commerce — not Treasury — holds the authority to make that call. Lutnick's department has not publicly detailed its reasoning for the delay in the material reviewed for this piece. Congressional testimony next month from both Lutnick and Huang is likely to be the next point at which more of the internal timeline becomes public.