White House weighs Lutnick's fate as Nvidia scandal deepens

The fallout from the Nvidia spy affair deepened Friday as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for failing to blacklist Singapore company Megaspeed, with senior White House officials reportedly discussing whether Lutnick should be pushed out. Bessent told CNBC that the Treasury, Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Trade Representative's Office had favored adding Megaspeed to the Commerce Department's entity list for months, but "Commerce has the pen." The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Lutnick has faced growing criticism over his oversight of export controls on U.S. chips to China. Bessent said the administration was working to shut down "leakage" in the chip export system and questioned whether Nvidia vetted its partner company amid CEO Jensen Huang's exit this week. He added that authorities exist to enforce controls, stating "they just need to be implemented."