White House Blame Game Erupts Over Nvidia Espionage Case

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for failing to restrict chip sales to China, escalating a White House blame game over the Nvidia espionage scandal that led to CEO Jensen Huang's resignation Thursday. Bessent told CNBC that Treasury, Defense, State, and the Trade Representative have pushed for months to blacklist Singapore-based Megaspeed, which allegedly funneled prohibited chips to China. He said Commerce controls the process, adding that Alice Huang, the alleged spy and Huang's lover, worked there. The dispute follows reports Bessent confronted Lutnick in the White House crisis room last week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned Trump about Huang's ties months ago, but Trump reportedly urged Huang not to resign and doubted intelligence findings. Nvidia shares fell about 4% Friday.