Key takeaways
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee, with CBS News reporting a date of December 10, 2026.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC on November 13, 2026 that several agencies favored blacklisting Megaspeed for months but that Commerce controlled the decision.
- Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company, has bought more than $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia AI chips over two years, according to CNBC.
- The hearing will be held by a Republican-led committee in the final weeks before Democrats take over Congress in January, which gives the dispute both a policy and a political dimension.
The Lutnick testimony is now scheduled: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee, with CBS News citing a U.S. official who put the date at December 10, 2026. The hearing follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s public statement on Friday, November 13, 2026, that the Commerce Department failed to follow through on blacklisting Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. It matters because it turns a corporate scandal at the world’s most valuable chipmaker into a test of how Washington enforces AI chip export controls.
What did Bessent say about Lutnick and Megaspeed?
Speaking on CNBC, Bessent said Treasury, State, the Pentagon and the U.S. Trade Representative had all favored placing Megaspeed on an export blacklist, according to CNN’s reporting. He said the Commerce Department, which Lutnick leads, did not complete the step. The Associated Press quoted him as saying Commerce “has the pen, and you will have to ask them about their internal processes.”
CNN reported that Bessent also suggested the inaction ran against directives from President Donald Trump. It added that Bessent had challenged Lutnick over the issue in a tense Situation Room meeting the previous week. The AP described the comments as an unusually public rebuke of a fellow cabinet department, which oversees U.S. controls on exports of sensitive technology.
CNN’s headline also said Trump advisers have discussed a possible ouster of the Commerce Secretary. The White House position on that report was not set out in the material reviewed for this article.
Why is the Nvidia scandal pulling in the Commerce Department?
The dispute grew out of the resignation of Jensen Huang as Nvidia’s chief executive. Forbes reported that Huang stepped down on Thursday, November 12, after revelations about two alleged affairs. ABC News reported that one involved Alice Huang, a Chinese national and Megaspeed executive who is accused of being a Chinese spy.
CNBC reported that Huang has acknowledged an affair with a Megaspeed executive. Megaspeed, it said, has bought more than $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia AI chips over the past two years. CBS News reported that the U.S. government suspects Megaspeed of directing advanced Nvidia chips to China in circumvention of American export rules.
Megaspeed was accused last year of illicitly shipping Nvidia chips into China. According to the AP, the company said in December that there was “no evidence” of such exports. The Hill reported that several outlets said Commerce paused an investigation into the company last year. Neither the Commerce Department nor Megaspeed was quoted on those reports in the sources reviewed here.
For markets, the episode has already been costly. CNN reported that Nvidia has lost $1.76 trillion in market value since the scandal broke. Intelligence Report examined the market side in AVGO Falls as Nvidia Turmoil Tests the AI Chip Rally.
What will the Lutnick testimony cover?
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, sent letters on Thursday evening to both Lutnick and Huang. CNBC reported that Scott asked Lutnick to address public reports about Nvidia and the Commerce Department’s role that raise national security concerns. Huang was asked to appear on December 3, and Lutnick on December 10, according to The Tribune, citing CNN.
A Commerce spokesperson, Kristen Eichamer, said Lutnick “proactively agreed” to appear voluntarily, as quoted by The Hill. Scott has said the committee could take further action if Huang declines to testify voluntarily. Separately, CNN reported that three House committees have summoned Huang for a closed-door interview.
Criticism of Commerce has come from within Lutnick’s own party. Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican on the Banking Committee, told Fox News that Lutnick appeared to have used loopholes to allow some chip sales, despite Trump’s direction otherwise, as CBS News reported. Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, urged Lutnick to hold a press conference explaining what he knew, according to the AP. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said, per CNN, that Lutnick “absolutely” needs to testify.
What does the dispute mean for AI chip export policy?
An export blacklist, formally the Commerce Department’s entity list, restricts shipments of controlled technology to named foreign companies. Because Commerce holds the authority to add names, a disagreement among agencies can leave a company off the list for months. Bessent’s remarks put that process on the public record.
Chip export policy has drawn scrutiny before. Senate Banking Committee members wrote to Lutnick in December 2025 about the administration’s decision to allow Nvidia H200 shipments to China, according to letters posted on the committee’s website. The current hearing will let senators press Lutnick on how licensing and blacklisting decisions were made.
For businesses, the outcome could shape how closely chipmakers and their distributors are expected to vet downstream buyers. For policymakers, it raises whether enforcement authority should sit with one department. Those questions are open, and no legislative proposal tied to this episode was identified in the sources reviewed.
What to watch
- December 3, 2026: the date Scott requested for Huang’s appearance, and whether he agrees voluntarily or faces a subpoena.
- December 10, 2026: the reported date of the Lutnick testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
- Megaspeed’s status: whether Commerce adds the company to the entity list before the hearing.
- White House response: any statement from Trump on Lutnick’s standing, given the CNN report on discussions about his possible removal.
- House committee interviews: the closed-door session for Huang sought by three House committees.
- January 2027 handover: how the incoming Democratic majorities treat the oversight inquiry once they take control of Congress.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Howard Lutnick and why is he testifying?
Howard Lutnick is the U.S. Commerce Secretary. He agreed to appear before the Senate Banking Committee after criticism of his department's delay in blacklisting Megaspeed, a Singapore company linked to Nvidia chip sales. Scott Bessent publicly blamed Commerce for that delay on November 13, 2026.
When is the Lutnick hearing?
CBS News reported, citing a U.S. official, that Lutnick will testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10, 2026. Committee Chairman Tim Scott requested that date in a letter. Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was asked to appear separately on December 3, 2026.
What is Megaspeed and why does it matter?
Megaspeed is a Singapore-based data center company that has bought more than $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia AI chips over two years, according to CNBC. The U.S. government suspects it of directing chips to China, which Megaspeed denied in December 2025. Its handling is central to the export control dispute.
Sources
- Bessent points finger at Lutnick over Nvidia chip exports as Trump advisers discuss possible Commerce Secretary ouster (CNN via WXOW)
- Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for not restricting Nvidia chips to China (AP via Times Union)
- Lutnick agrees to testify as Bessent blames him for not banning Nvidia chip exports to China-linked firm (CBS News)
- Nvidia scandal draws in Commerce Secretary Lutnick, who reportedly agrees to testify about China chip sales (CNBC)
- House and Senate Republicans call on Howard Lutnick, Jensen Huang to testify about Nvidia (ABC News)
- Howard Lutnick open to testifying before Congress after Nvidia scandal unveiled (The Hill)
- Lutnick Agrees To Testify Before Congress (Forbes)
- Jensen Huang summoned to testify before Congress after resigning as Nvidia CEO (CNN)
- US Commerce Secretary Lutnick agrees to testify before Senate panel over Nvidia export controls controversy (The Tribune, ANI)
- Senate Banking Committee letter to Lutnick on H200 sales, December 12, 2025
Top image: Gunnar Klack / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
This article was produced by the Intelligence Report Desk. Sources are linked below.
