Bessent publicly blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for Nvidia-Megaspeed failure

Nov 13, 2026

On November 13, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department for failing to blacklist Singapore-based Megaspeed, which is accused of smuggling Nvidia AI chips to China. The dispute follows the November 12 resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang over an affair with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang. While White House officials expressed support for Lutnick, he faces growing ouster discussions and agreed to testify before the Senate on December 10, 2026.

Bessent's Statements and disputes over Lutnick

▪On November 13, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on CNBC that Treasury, Defense, State, and USTR supported adding Singapore-based Megaspeed to the trade entity list for months, but the Commerce Department held sole authority to act
▪U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to confirm or deny on November 13, 2026 whether he confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Situation Room meeting regarding Megaspeed export restrictions

Bessent on Nvidia export controls

▪U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on November 13, 2026 that Nvidia must be held accountable for whether Nvidia knew Megaspeed operated as pass-through shell companies to bypass chip export controls
▪U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on November 13, 2026 that President Donald Trump explicitly directed that China should not receive any Nvidia chips superior to H100 models

Commerce Department delay and internal friction over Megaspeed

▪Bessent said the U.S. Commerce Department delayed putting Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed on the U.S. entity list despite investigations and pressure from multiple federal executive agencies
▪During a meeting of cabinet deputies, Commerce Department Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler deferred action on blacklisting Megaspeed, stating that the decision rested with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

Transfer of Megaspeed investigation

▪The federal investigation into whether Megaspeed illegally sent Nvidia chips to China was transferred from the Commerce Department to the Department of Justice in late 2025
▪The federal investigation into Megaspeed was transferred to the Department of Justice after Nvidia's general counsel contacted Commerce Department investigators to request an update

Congressional investigations and records requests for Lutnick

▪Democratic Representatives Richard E. Neal and Ron Wyden initiated congressional investigations into how Nvidia advanced H200 chips were exported to Chinese firms after being imported to America for inspection with tariffs
▪Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10, 2026 regarding the Commerce Department's oversight of Nvidia AI chip exports
▪Congressional committees requested Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the Commerce Department to retain all records and communications related to Nvidia, chip sales, and former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

Howard Lutnick's ties to Nvidia

▪Former Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang described Howard Lutnick in 2025 as his closest friend in the presidential administration
▪When President Donald Trump nominated Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, Lutnick's firm Cantor Fitzgerald held approximately $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock

Megaspeed's role in acquiring and smuggling Nvidia chips

▪U.S. government agencies investigated Megaspeed over allegations of smuggling advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence chips into China in violation of U.S. law
▪Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed bought Nvidia AI chips to build Southeast Asian data centers serving Chinese clients, exploiting a legal loophole in U.S. export controls

Jensen Huang's resignation and Alice Huang's spy allegations

▪U.S. intelligence agencies identified former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang as a suspected asset and spy for the Chinese government
▪Jensen Huang resigned as the chief executive officer of Nvidia