Bessent Blames Lutnick’s Commerce Over Nvidia Chip Leaks to China
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that the Commerce Department delayed blacklisting Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a route for Nvidia chips to China. His remarks came a day after CEO Jensen Huang resigned, and as advisers reportedly weigh Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's future.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday, November 13, 2026, blamed the Commerce Department for delaying action against Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a company accused of helping advanced Nvidia chips reach China. In a rare public rebuke, Bessent said the delay sat with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's agency.
The comments came one day after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned. They also exposed a split inside the Trump administration over who should have stopped the chip flow.
Who wanted Megaspeed blacklisted
Speaking on CNBC, Bessent said the Treasury, Defense and State departments, plus the US Trade Representative's office, had backed adding Megaspeed to Washington's export control list for months. That list, known as the entity list, restricts sales of sensitive technology to companies seen as national security risks.
Commerce runs the list. "Commerce has the pen, and you will have to ask them about their internal processes," Bessent said.
He said he was "frustrated" because President Donald Trump had "made it very clear China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s". The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Huang's resignation and the affair
Huang resigned on Thursday after reports of an affair with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive suspected by US intelligence of being a Chinese spy. The two are not related. In a November 8 letter to Nvidia employees, Huang acknowledged the relationship.
Bessent said coverage had fixated on Huang's private life. "The real story here should be: Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage," he said.
He also asked whether Nvidia had sold chips to "what were obviously pass-through shell companies". There was "a lot of leakage in the system", Bessent said, and the administration was working to fix it.
Pressure on Lutnick
Some of Trump's advisers have begun discussing whether Lutnick should be dismissed, according to people familiar with the conversations. Two others said Trump had fielded calls from officials and outside advisers raising concerns about him.
The White House has stood by Lutnick. In a statement Thursday, it said Trump "maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history." Sources said it was unclear what Trump would do.
Senior officials, including Lutnick, were briefed months ago on Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, people familiar with the matter said. Commerce has still not put Megaspeed on the entity list. Bessent reportedly challenged Lutnick over this at a tense Situation Room meeting last week. Asked about it, Bessent said: "We don't repeat conversations in the Situation Room."
Megaspeed was accused last year of illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia chips to China. It denied the allegations in December, saying there was "no evidence" of such exports. On Thursday, it said it takes its obligations under American export control laws "extremely seriously".
Nvidia's board has said it will investigate. The chairs of three congressional committees have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18.
