Scott Bessent blames Commerce for not blacklisting Megaspeed

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s department Friday for not blacklisting Singapore-based Nvidia chip buyer Megaspeed, telling CNBC that Commerce “has the pen.”

Bessent said Treasury, State, Defense and the U.S. Trade Representative had supported putting Megaspeed on an export control list for months. “Commerce has the pen, and you will have to ask them about their internal processes,” he said.

Megaspeed’s purchases of Nvidia chips have totaled billions of dollars in recent years. “I am frustrated when President Trump made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s,” Bessent said. He said any leakage gives China an advantage and hurts U.S. companies in the AI race.

It was not immediately clear why Commerce has not listed Megaspeed, whether it will do so, whether Nvidia chips reached China through the firm, or whether Trump will fire Lutnick.

Disputed Situation Room account

Starting in fall 2025, White House and intelligence officials pressed Lutnick and his senior advisers to take action against Megaspeed, sources told Axios. After they refused, Bessent raised the issue during a White House Situation Room meeting, the sources told Axios. Commerce denied that the exchange happened.

At the meeting, Bessent asked, “How come Megaspeed isn’t on the entities list?” according to a source briefed on the meeting.

Lutnick initially stammered, then replied, “I don’t know. I’ll look into it,” the sources told Axios.

Commerce spokesperson Kristen Eichamer said, “This is false. Secretary Bessent and Secretary Lutnick had no such conversation.”

A source with extensive experience of the chip controversy challenged the account of Lutnick’s answer, telling Axios he had resisted action after personally receiving a Megaspeed memo drafted by Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio. Commerce, which denies the conversation occurred, leads the interagency committee responsible for blacklisting decisions and consults Treasury when appropriate.

Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on Thursday after acknowledging an affair, following scrutiny of his relationship with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang. CNBC and The Guardian reported that U.S. intelligence had assessed Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, to be a Chinese spy. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing, while China denies the spying allegations.

Nvidia chief financial officer Colette Kress took over as interim CEO. Sen. Tim Scott, Republican chair of the Senate Banking Committee, requested testimony from Jensen Huang and Lutnick.

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

— Senator Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) November 13, 2026

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer asked Thursday what Trump knew when he invited Jensen Huang onto Air Force One during a state visit to Beijing earlier this year. “Americans deserve to know that those at the highest levels of power are putting America first, not their bottom line or their personal friendships,” Schumer said.

Bessent told CNBC, “The story has been thus far on Jensen Huang’s personal foibles.” He said the question was whether Nvidia had understood who its customer was and sought to prevent leakage and sales to “what were obviously pass-through shell companies,” adding that those responsible should face accountability.

Asked about the reported Situation Room exchange, Bessent said, “We don’t repeat conversations in the Situation Room.”

Commerce record and congressional scrutiny

Bessent and Lutnick both pursued the Treasury job during Trump’s transition. Once Trump selected Bessent, the two disagreed on trade policy. In December 2025, Trump said Nvidia could sell H200 chips to approved Chinese customers if the U.S. received a percentage of the sales.

Sources told Axios that Lutnick spent the last year “undoing” other officials’ efforts to hold Megaspeed accountable because he feared escalation of the trade war with China. An Axios review of the Federal Register found that Commerce has added no company to its Entity List in more than a year.

White House officials are discussing whether to fire Lutnick after it emerged that a U.S. intelligence report concerning Jensen Huang’s relationship with the alleged spy had circulated among senior administration figures, The Guardian reported, citing The Associated Press. Many Republicans continue to defend Lutnick publicly, and a person close to the White House told Semafor, “This guy has nine lives.”

Republican Sen. John Cornyn urged a thorough inquiry into export-control evasion and told the Financial Times, “Heads should roll.”

Eichamer said Lutnick “has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to address their questions.” His appearance is scheduled for December.

Three House committees, overseeing China, intelligence and foreign affairs, have requested a closed-door briefing from Jensen Huang on Dec. 1 and a closed-door interview with Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter on Dec. 2. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast asked Commerce’s under secretary for industry and security, Jeff Kessler, to appear Dec. 3 for a hearing about chip smuggling and the enforcement of export controls.