Top line
A growing bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is surrounding Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick following Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO of Nvidia, raising speculation that he could become the Trump administration’s scapegoat in the fallout from Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is reflected on a transparent bulletproof partition as he takes the stage during a midterm campaign rally with U.S. President Donald Trump at Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, North Carolina, October 20, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
Key facts
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., became the latest Republican to express concerns about whether Lutnick knew about the relationship, telling Fox News on Thursday that Lutnick should testify “as soon as possible” before the Senate Banking Committee.
Reuters also reported Senior White House officials on Thursday were discussing whether to oust Lutnick amid criticism from Banks and others, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Banks alleged that Lutnick “used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales, even though President Trump has directed his administration and the Department of Commerce not to allow that to happen,” adding, “we have a lot of bipartisan questions and concerns.”
The banks appeared to be referring to accusations that Lutnick repeatedly resisted a crackdown on Singaporean data center company Megaspeed, which is owned by Alice Huang, the Chinese woman with whom Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair, and other companies accused of diverting Nvidia’s AI chips to China to circumvent U.S. restrictions on direct sales of advanced chips to China – allegations detailed in the New York Times and Axios following the revelations of the affair.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the likely new chairwoman of the Banking Committee, and the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons, D-Del., also wrote this week to Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, following the fallout, asking them to preserve all documents related to Nvidia’s AI chip exports to China and any other documents detailing related national security risks to Nvidia, according to Reuters.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., told Lutnick in a separate letter Thursday that they are investigating the administration’s approval of Nvidia’s AI chip sales to Chinese companies.
Crucial quote
“The obvious question is why did he choose to sell advanced chips?” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Policyreferring to Lutnick, in an interview Wednesday. “Secretary Lutnick needs to answer this question before God and country. If I were him, I would call a press conference this afternoon and explain what happened and why he agreed to sell them chips, and I would stop doing it.” Kennedy said, “There will be a congressional investigation, but I don’t think it should wait for Congress.”
Tangent
On at least three occasions over the past year, Lutnick resisted pressure from Trump for the agency to strengthen export controls on Megaspeed and other companies accused of chip smuggling, including after the president and other officials received a highly classified memo about Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang in May, according to Axios. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked Lutnick again why Megaspeed was not blacklisted during a White House meeting last week, Axios and the New York Times reported. The Times also reported that the Commerce Department referred an investigation into Megaspeed to the Justice Department after Nvidia questioned the agency about its investigation.
Contra
An anonymous White House official said earlier Thursday that Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out his duties,” Reuters reported.
Key context
Huang resigned Thursday following revelations last week that the married billionaire not only had an affair with Alice Huang, but also allegedly had a second affair with Nvidia Vice President of Healthcare Kimberly Powell. He did not confirm the alleged affair with Powell, but resigned a day after it was made public. Hours after his resignation, Reuters reported that Huang was in a relationship with a second Nvidia employee. Several congressional committees are in talks to have Huang testify, and lawmakers have warned he will face subpoenas if he does not appear voluntarily.
further reading
Jensen Huang ousted: timeline of the Nvidia scandal (Forbes)
Allegations in Second Jensen Huang Affair Heighten Divorce Speculation: Billionaire’s Wife Could Get Half of His $140 Billion Fortune (Forbes)
Jensen Huang absent from Nvidia after business scandals (Forbes)
Nvidia falls 11% at open after Jensen Huang resigns, pushing market cap below Microsoft (Forbes)
Jensen Huang no longer among world’s 10 richest as Nvidia crisis continues (Forbes)
Nvidia Investigating CEO Jensen Huang’s Relationship With Alleged Chinese Spy After He Admits Affair (Forbes)
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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