Lutnick Under Fire as Nvidia-China Spy Probe Raises More Questions
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U.S. officials are weighing whether to remove Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as a probe expands into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe may be a Chinese spy.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is under consideration for removal, according to Reuters, as the White House examines a growing scandal involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe to be a Chinese spy. Lutnick had advocated for allowing Nvidia to sell advanced chips to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based firm led by a Chinese national linked to the affair.
President Donald Trump has defended Huang, stating that an intelligence assessment of the relationship “didn’t make much of an impact on me.” Republican senators, including Louisiana’s John Kennedy, have called for Lutnick to answer questions about the matter. Kennedy told Politico that “Secretary Lutnick needs to answer that in front of God and country.”
Democratic leaders, who will chair key Senate committees in the next Congress, sent a letter to Lutnick, National Security Adviser Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller requesting preservation of relevant documents and a congressional appearance to discuss potential national-security risks.
Former officials and commentators have suggested that focusing on Lutnick could serve as a strategy to shift scrutiny away from the president. Former national-security adviser John Bolton said, “Eventually one of the subordinates will blame Trump,” while former White House counsel staffer Ty Cobb called Lutnick “the place to pull the knot” and asked whether the secretary acted independently or on presidential direction.
The White House and the Commerce Department declined to comment on the inquiries. In a separate interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, President Trump described the episode as a “sad episode” for Huang, noting the businessman’s $25 million donation to a Trump-affiliated project while lobbying for chip sales to China.