Howard Lutnick ouster weighed over Nvidia chip exports to China

Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out over his department’s handling of Nvidia’s chip sales to China, two people familiar with the talks told Reuters on Friday, 13 November.

A White House official said publicly that President Donald Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position.” No decision has been announced.

Why is Lutnick under pressure?

The Commerce Department decides which American chips may be exported to China and which foreign companies go on the US trade blacklist, the Entity List. The questions have grown since Nvidia chief Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday after reports of an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore’s Megaspeed, whom US officials suspect of spying for China.

Megaspeed bought Nvidia chips, and it and linked firms are under US criminal investigation over claims they smuggled those chips into China. Lawmakers want to know why Megaspeed was never added to the blacklist, and why the administration held back from listing dozens of other Chinese companies.

According to the reports, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick about the Megaspeed decision at a meeting in the White House Situation Room. One report also said Lutnick slowed a planned crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia chips to China. Neither the White House nor the Commerce Department responded to Reuters’ request for comment at the time.

What Congress is saying

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have asked Lutnick and other officials to preserve every record about Nvidia’s exports. Republican Representative Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Congress needs to investigate how the Commerce Department approves chip exports, while adding that he still has confidence in Lutnick.

CNN has reported that Huang has been asked to brief Congress behind closed doors.

Who is Howard Lutnick?

Lutnick, the former chief executive of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has been Commerce Secretary since early 2025 and has been one of the most visible faces of Trump’s tariff policy. Losing him would be one of the biggest cabinet changes of Trump’s second term.

Why it matters for Pakistan

US chip export rules do not only apply to China. They decide how easily other countries, Pakistan included, can buy the advanced chips needed for AI data centres. A tougher line after this scandal could mean stricter checks on where every shipment ends up.

Watch for a White House decision on Lutnick and any hearing on Nvidia’s exports, alongside Nvidia’s results on Tuesday, 17 November.