Commerce Secretary Lutnick once boasted of giving Jensen Huang easy access to Trump, and that promise is fueling calls for a congressional probe into Nvidia, China, and spying.
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Washington: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick once said he promised Jensen Huang “really easy access to the president,” according to resurfaced podcast audio reported by The Daily Beast. That access is now under scrutiny as the Nvidia sex and spy scandal reaches the Trump administration.
Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on Thursday after admitting to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang (no relation). She is a former executive at Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed, and US intelligence reportedly suspects her of working for Beijing. Huang has also been linked to alleged relationships with 2 Nvidia employees.
The chip deal at the center
In an All-In podcast interview last year, Lutnick described how Huang argued that selling advanced AI chips to China would keep Chinese buyers dependent on American technology. According to Lutnick, Trump agreed but demanded a 25% government cut, an arrangement Lutnick called the president’s deal.
That puts new focus on Lutnick himself, because his department oversees the export controls Nvidia lobbied to loosen.
Were warnings missed?
Axios reported that Lutnick received a highly classified memo in May about the suspected Chinese intelligence operation and about Megaspeed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Friday that Treasury, State, the War Department and the US trade representative had pushed for months to add Megaspeed to the entity list, which restricts access to US technology. He said Commerce made the final decision.
Anger from both parties
Republican Senator John Kennedy asked on CNN how officials could be sure the chips never reached China’s Communist Party, and he called the whole affair an absurd spectacle.
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons demanded that Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller preserve all records on Nvidia’s China sales and the Megaspeed probe. Warren has pressed for months for public testimony on chip exports. Huang declined a Senate Banking Committee invitation in June to testify on Nvidia’s China business and US export controls.
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Lutnick’s spokesperson told NBC News that he has agreed to testify voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee.
Trump stands by Huang
Trump has defended Huang this week. He called the resignation sad and said Nvidia’s chips are too advanced to copy. He has not said when he learned of the security concerns.
The two men have been close. Nvidia pledged $25 million toward Trump’s White House ballroom, and Huang joined the president’s May trip to China for his summit with Xi Jinping.
The White House and the Commerce Department did not respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.
Based on reporting by The Daily Beast, with additional reporting from Axios, CNBC and NBC News.
