Embattled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is set to testify before the Senate about his agency’s handling of AI chip export controls – even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others blame him for failing to crack down on the Chinese firm at the center of the Nvidia “spy” scandal.
Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) sent letters to both Lutnick and recently resigned Nvidia boss Jensen Huang on Thursday requesting they appear at separate hearings in early December to answer questions about “our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology.”
“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to address their questions,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement.
Lutnick’s job may be in jeopardy as critics on Capitol Hill question why the agency didn’t blacklist Megaspeed – a Singapore-based firm led by Alice Huang, the alleged Chinese spy who had an affair with Jensen Huang, no relation. Commerce did not take action even as US officials grew concerned Megaspeed was smuggling advanced chips to China.
Prior to a trip President Trump took to China in mid-May, Lutnick received a “highly classified memo” warning him about Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, Axios reported this week.
Despite that knowledge, Commerce did not take action against Megaspeed or update its enforcement of rules restricting chip shipments to Southeast Asia.
As The Post previously reported, rumblings on “bad findings about Megaspeed” swirled within the Commerce Department at least as far back as summer 2025.
The Commerce Department and its Bureau of Industry and Security, led by Bessent aide Jeffrey Kessler, are responsible for enforcing export controls.
A former Commerce Department official told The Post that the agency was close to publishing a rule in July 2025 requiring export licenses for advanced chip sales to certain countries in Southeast Asia and received sign-off from other relevant agencies – but Lutnick “refused to publish it.”
Meanwhile, Bessent went after Lutnick in a Friday interview on CNBC – asserting that other Trump administration officials have been waiting on Commerce to take decisive action.
“Treasury, War, [the US Trade Representative] and State — they were in favor of putting Megaspeed on the entity list for months, but Commerce has the pen,” Bessent said. “You have to ask them about their internal processes.”
After the Nvidia scandal blew up publicly, Bessent reportedly confronted Lutnick during a meeting in the Situation Room and asked why Commerce hadn’t named Megaspeed as an entity of concern.
The Commerce Department did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.