White House weighs Lutnick dismissal after Nvidia scandal

Senior White House officials are discussing whether to dismiss US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick following the espionage scandal at Nvidia and the dismissal of Jensen Huang, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, criticism of Lutnick is linked to the administration’s refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to the main US trade blacklist and insufficient oversight of Nvidia chip exports to China.

Washington has reportedly not expanded the list since October 2025 in order to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing.

A White House spokesperson previously said President Donald Trump “has full confidence in the Secretary and his ability to carry out his duties”.

Pressure on Lutnick from the Senate and Treasury

However, senators including Elizabeth Warren are demanding an explanation from Lutnick and insisting that all documents relating to advanced chip exports and national security risks be preserved.

Members of Congress have also questioned Trump’s December 2025 decision to allow Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China in exchange for a share of sales, describing it as an “unconstitutional export tax”.

Axios reported on 11 November, citing sources close to the matter, that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked Lutnick why Nvidia customer Megaspeed had not been placed on the US Commerce Department’s export restrictions list, known as the Entity List.

According to the report, administration and intelligence officials have been urging Lutnick and his closest advisers to take action against the company since autumn 2025, without success.

Megaspeed is at the centre of the scandal surrounding Nvidia’s dismissed chief executive, Jensen Huang.

US intelligence agencies suspected the company’s former executive, Alice Huang, of having ties to Chinese intelligence and gathering information on the Nvidia executive.

It later emerged that the two were in a romantic relationship.

US authorities are also examining whether Megaspeed played a role in circumventing restrictions on shipments of US artificial intelligence chips to China.