A growing bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are circling Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the wake of Jensen Huang's resignation as Nvidia CEO, raising speculation he could become the scapegoat for the Trump administration in the fallout over Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is reflected on a transparent bulletproof partition as he steps onstage during a midterm campaign rally with US President Donald Trump at Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, North Carolina, on October 20, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., became the latest Republican to raise concerns about whether Lutnick had knowledge of the relationship, telling Fox News on Thursday that Lutnick needs to testify "ASAP" before the Senate Banking Committee.
Reuters also reported on Thursday that senior White House officials are discussing whether to oust Lutnick amid the criticism from Banks and others, citing two people familiar with the situation.
Banks alleged Lutnick "used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales to occur 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."
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 Jensen Huang admitted to an affair with, and other firms accused of diverting Nvidia's AI chips to China as a workaround to U.S. restrictions on direct sales of advanced chips to China—allegations detailed in The New York Times and
Axios in the wake of the affair revelations.
Sen.
Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the likely incoming Banking Committee chair, and incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Chris Coons, D-Del., also wrote to Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller this week in the wake of the fallout telling them to preserve all documents related to Nvidia's AI chip exports to China and any other documents detailing national security
risks related to Nvidia, according to Reuters.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., told Lutnick in a separate letter on Thursday that they were investigating the administration's approval of Nvidia's AI chip sales to Chinese companies.
"The obvious question is why did he choose to sell advanced chips?" Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Politico, referring to Lutnick, in an interview Wednesday. "Secretary Lutnick needs to answer that in front of God and country.
If I were he, I'd call a press conference this afternoon and explain what happened and why he agreed to sell 'em chips, and I would stop doing it." Kennedy said, "there will be a congressional investigation, but I don't think he ought to wait on Congress."
On at least three separate occasions over the past year, Lutnick resisted Trump's push for the agency to tighten export controls on Megaspeed and other companies accused of chips-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 again confronted Lutnick about why Megaspeed wasn't blacklisted during a White House meeting last week, Axios and The New York Times reported. The Times also reported that the Commerce Department referred a probe into Megaspeed to the Justice Department after Nvidia questioned the agency about its investigation.
An unnamed White House official said earlier Thursday that Trump "maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position," Reuters reported.
Huang resigned Thursday in the wake of revelations over the past week that the married billionaire not only had an affair with Alice Huang, but also allegedly had a second affair with Nvidia's vice president of health care, 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 had a relationship with a second Nvidia employee. Multiple congressional committees are in talks for Huang to testify, and lawmakers have warned he'll face subpoenas if he doesn't appear voluntarily.
Jensen Huang Ousted: Timeline Of The Nvidia Scandal (Forbes)
Allegations Of Second Jensen Huang Affair Ramp Up Divorce Speculation—Billionaire's Wife Could Get Half His $140 BillIon Fortune (Forbes)
Jensen Huang Out At Nvidia After Affair Scandals (Forbes)
Nvidia Sinks 11% At Open After Jensen Huang Resigns—Pushing Market Cap Below Microsoft (Forbes)
Jensen Huang Is No Longer Among World's 10 Richest As Nvidia Slump 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
