Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday, sending company shares tumbling after revelations that he had a relationship with a woman believed by U.S. intelligence agencies to be a Chinese spy, nytimes.com reported.
The woman, Alice Huang, served as a top executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company suspected of smuggling advanced artificial intelligence chips to China.
The departure thrusts Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick into an uncomfortable spotlight, questioning whether his department failed to adequately police chip sales to Megaspeed. Within the Trump administration, senior officials have increasingly clashed over how strictly to regulate artificial intelligence technology sales to Asia.
Anthony Scaramucci on how the Trump administration has responded to the scrutiny surrounding its relationship with Nvidia: pic.twitter.com/oM01tg2vZR
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick during a White House meeting over his handling of the Singaporean firm, demanding to know why the U.S. had not already banned chip sales to the company, nytimes.com reported. Three House Republican committee chairs have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing Nov. 18, according to KTAR.
Cabinet Clashes Over Export Restrictions
While most senior Trump administration officials agree that the U.S. should more aggressively tighten controls on Nvidia’s advanced chips, Lutnick has frequently clashed with top officials over how to regulate the sales, nytimes.com reported. Critics in the administration and Congress accuse the Commerce Department of becoming too cozy with Nvidia.
NEW: The world is wondering why the Trump administration has not taken action against the company at the center of suspected Nvidia chip smuggling and an espionage scandal involving CEO Jensen Huang. Six high-level sources all pointed to one administration official who they say…
Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have pushed for tighter restrictions on advanced chip sales to China. Lutnick has repeatedly delayed or deferred technology controls, according to people familiar with internal discussions.
“We need to stop helping them,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during his confirmation hearing in January last year, referring to China's progress in A.I.
Details from inside the room w/@MarcACaputo: At a White House Situation Room meeting on Thursday after the midterm elections, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on why Megaspeed had not been added to the Commerce Department's entity list.…
During a Situation Room confrontation, Bessent and other top officials pressed Lutnick and Commerce Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler to label Megaspeed a national security threat, CNN reported. Lutnick warned that new measures would start a trade war with China, according to Axios.
“He’s stalling it out,” an official told Axios, describing how Lutnick had previously met privately with the president to change his mind about export limits.
President Trump ultimately told officials to proceed with controls after consulting tech advisor Elon Musk.
Ties Between the Commerce Department and Nvidia
Nvidia has enjoyed unique access to the Commerce Department, where current and former officials say the firm is treated differently than other companies. Lutnick frequently calls and messages with Huang, and department officials carefully prepare for their private meetings in Lutnick’s office, nytimes.com reported.
Nvidia’s general counsel, Tim Teter, has been granted direct access to shape draft regulations. An internal Commerce Department inquiry into whether Megaspeed was smuggling chips to China was shut down late last year after Teter reached out directly to investigators and invoked the name of Jeffrey Kessler, Lutnick’s top deputy, nytimes.com reported.
Before his nomination to lead the department, Lutnick served as chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment bank that held about $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock, CBS News reported. Critics argue those past ties and ongoing business connections created conflicts of interest.
“Either Lutnick doesn’t know how to do his job or he is protecting Huang,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
A Commerce Department spokeswoman denied that Trump’s relationship with Huang put a chill on agency actions, calling the idea false and reckless, nytimes.com reported. The agency said that it has worked in concert with other agencies to issue export controls and bring major criminal investigations against chip smuggling.
Megaspeed connects to Nvidia and faces regulatory changes
What is Megaspeed and what is its connection to Nvidia?
Megaspeed is a Singapore-based company originally incorporated in 2015 as a Chinese video game developer called 7Road International, CNN reported. Under Alice Huang, it became one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Asia, purchasing more than $4 billion worth of semiconductors, according to analyst estimates cited by CNN.
What specific restrictions were rolled back or delayed?
The Biden administration issued regulations in January 2025 to restrict remote access to data centers in Southeast Asia, but the Trump administration rolled them back shortly after taking office, nytimes.com reported. Officials have since sparred over replacement rules to stop Chinese firms from accessing U.S. computing power remotely.
What has been the financial impact on Nvidia?
Nvidia shares fell 4.3% on Thursday, wiping out roughly $180 billion in market value after plunging as much as 14% at the open following Huang’s resignation, KTAR reported.
Who else is facing scrutiny over the export control loopholes?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Lutnick and his deputy, Jeffrey Kessler, to explain why they have not closed export control loopholes, CBS News reported. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona called on President Trump to fire Lutnick over the handling of the chip smuggling investigations, according to KTAR.
This article is the best encapsulation of Congressional republicans turning on Lutnickhttps://t.co/UpDLZ8Pytj
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