Washington, DC [US], November 13 (ANI): US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday faulted the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for stalling the designation of Nvidia client Megaspeed as a potential national security risk, bringing internal Trump administration friction into the open in the wake of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s departure.
Notably, Megaspeed International is a Singapore-based company that emerged as one of Nvidia’s major customers for artificial intelligence chips. Its executive Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang but had an extramarital relationship with, is suspected by US intelligence officials of having links to Chinese intelligence.
During an interview with CNBC highlighted by CNN, Bessent stated that multiple key agencies, including the Treasury Department, State Department, Pentagon, and the US Trade Representative, had all supported adding Megaspeed to an export blacklist.
However, he pointed directly at Lutnick’s Commerce Department for failing to act.
“Commerce…has the pen. You would have to ask them about their internal processes,” Bessent said, as quoted by CNN.
Bessent further implied that the delay ran counter to explicit instructions from the president regarding semiconductor exports to Beijing.
“I am frustrated when President Trump made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above A100S,” he said, referring to an entry-level processor.
“And so any leakage is very frustrating because it hurts our great companies in the AI race, gives the Chinese an advantage,” Bessent added.
On being asked about reports of tension between him and Secretary Lutnick over why Megaspeed was not placed on the entity list, and whether Treasury could have acted independently.
In response, Bessent confirmed that interagency coordination existed, stating, “Yes. Well, I can tell you there was coordination. Treasury, War, USTR, and State were in favour of putting MegaSpeed on the entity list for months, but Commerce has the pen. Commerce BIS has the pen, and you will have to ask them about their internal processes.”
CNN reported that Bessent’s remarks coincide with private discussions among some of President Donald Trump’s advisers regarding the potential removal of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as the administration grapples with the aftermath of Huang’s resignation.
Citing two additional sources, CNN noted that Trump has personally received calls from both administration insiders and external advisers voicing serious concerns about Lutnick.
Despite the mounting scrutiny, the White House publicly backed Lutnick on Thursday, ahead of Bessent’s interview, declaring in a statement cited by CNN that Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history”.
Given the longstanding friendship between Trump and Lutnick, sources told CNN that the president’s eventual course of action remains uncertain.
In May 2026, a Wall Street ‘Short seller’ Culper Research, had flagged Huang’s alleged links to Alice Huang (the woman now claimed to be a Chinese Intel asset).
According to CBS News, on May 13 this year, Culper Research published a 40-page report highlighting Huang’s ties to Alice Huang, a former television reporter and financial industry executive.
According to the report, a copy of which is with ANI, Culper Research said, “Nvidia has repeatedly vouched for Megaspeed – its single largest Southeast Asian chip buyer currently under investigation by both U.S. Commerce and Singapore authorities.”
“Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has not only vouched for Megaspeed, but seems to have quite literally walked alongside Megaspeed at every step, while maintaining an uncomfortably close relationship with Megaspeed’s Alice Huang, a Chinese national. He was first spotted partying with Alice Huang in June 2024 – the same month the Apex/Alibaba pledge was filed. He then dined with Alice Huang in Taiwan in May 2025 – just weeks after the news of U.S. trade restrictions. Finally, per one current Megaspeed employee, Jensen visits Megaspeed-linked data centres ‘every few months’ and “every single time” he visits, he is accompanied by representatives from Alibaba. The Megaspeed employee characterised their relationship with Jensen as “very close”, corroborating another former Nvidia employee’s suggestion to us that many Nvidia employees wondered if there was a special relationship,” the report stated.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has however dismissed allegations that Alice Huang was a Chinese spy as “groundless speculation and an attempt to smear and malign China.”
Jensen Huang was also reported to have had another affair with a senior executive of Nvidia, Kimberly Powell. According to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, Huang had a relationship with another employee, with the latest revelation coming after his resignation as the CEO following reports of two other alleged extramarital relationships that have drawn attention to the company’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the US Senate Banking Committee has sought Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s testimony over concerns surrounding the Commerce Department’s oversight of Nvidia’s advanced semiconductor exports.
The move comes as questions mount over the handling of a probe into the company’s Singapore-based customer Megaspeed International and its alleged links to China, raising concerns over the protection of sensitive American technology.
US Senator Tim Scott, in a post on X, said recent reports had raised serious national security concerns and called for both Lutnick and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to appear before the committee.
“Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive U.S. technology. I am requesting that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify before the Senate Banking Committee. The American people deserve answers,” Scott said.
Scott has requested Huang’s voluntary appearance before the committee on December 3, 2026, for a public hearing examining reports concerning Nvidia’s semiconductor exports and potential national security implications.
In his letter to Huang, Scott cited the committee’s jurisdiction over export controls under the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. He said the committee had the authority to investigate matters within its jurisdiction and obtain testimony and documents.
The senator also warned that the committee could resort to compulsory measures if Huang declined to appear voluntarily.
“Should you fail to appear before the Committee on a voluntary basis, the Committee is prepared to use all tools at our disposal, including subpoenas, to conduct this legitimate and necessary oversight,” Scott wrote.
According to CBS News, Lutnick has come under scrutiny over his professional and personal connections with Chinese companies and his close relationship with Huang, raising questions about whether these associations influenced the Commerce Department’s oversight of Nvidia’s advanced AI chip exports.
CBS News reported that the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security launched an investigation in 2024 into whether Nvidia chips sold to Megaspeed were being redirected to China in violation of US export restrictions. However, according to The New York Times, the investigation was subsequently transferred to the Department of Justice. The DOJ has declined to comment on the matter.
The US Commerce Department maintains an Entity List of foreign companies and individuals considered potential national security or foreign policy threats. Their inclusion restricts access to American technology and products. CBS News reported that the department has not added a company to the list since October 2025.
The issue has also exposed differences within the Trump administration; US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick last week over the Commerce Department’s failure to place Megaspeed on the Entity List. Axios separately reported that the discussion took place at the White House Situation Room.
According to CBS News, Lutnick’s previous business interests in China have also drawn scrutiny. Before joining the Trump administration, he headed Cantor Fitzgerald, which held approximately USD 1.2 billion in Nvidia stock at the time of his nomination.
Questions about his connections with Chinese companies had also emerged during his Senate confirmation proceedings last year, when lawmakers sought assurances that he would safeguard sensitive American technology against potential threats from Beijing.
Lutnick had pledged to remain vigilant against China, saying, “I take a very jaundiced view of China. I think they only care about themselves and seek harm to us, and so we need to protect ourselves.”
The scrutiny comes amid growing concerns over Megaspeed’s access to advanced American semiconductors. According to CNN, the company has purchased more than USD 4 billion worth of Nvidia chips and has been suspected of routing advanced processors to Chinese entities in circumvention of US export restrictions.
Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing, describing itself as a “compliant and legal company.”
Meanwhile, after Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang stepped down as CEO on Thursday and the company appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, Huang has agreed to testify before US congressional committees over his reported ties with a woman suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence, as Republican lawmakers step up their investigation into potential national security implications surrounding the chipmaking giant.
According to CNN, House Republican leaders are negotiating with Huang and Nvidia for a closed-door briefing before key congressional committees, potentially as early as next week.
Fox News also reported that Huang is expected to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, as scrutiny grows over his reported association with the woman.
Nvidia’s board has also reportedly initiated an investigation into the matter. The probe has also raised questions about whether any national security interests or confidential company information may have been compromised. (ANI)
