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A White House Situation Room meeting reportedly turned into a blowout between two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretaries after news broke that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with a suspect Chinese spy.
Tempers apparently boiled over regarding claims Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dragged his feet on placing restrictions on a company run by a suspected Chinese spy with whom Huang admitted to having an affair — even after the Cabinet official received an intel memo informing him of the potential threat.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly confronted Lutnick about that in the meeting, and other Cabinet officials took his side, according to Axios.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before an event with President Donald Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump has for months called to place companies suspected of supplying China with Nvidia’s complex AI chips on what is called the Entity List, a Department of Commerce export control list that identifies companies that the U.S. government believes pose a serious risk to national security.
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Three times — in May, August and last Thursday — Trump approved taking action against companies believed to be diverting Nvidia chips to China, according to Axios.
One of those companies is Singapore-based Megaspeed International, which is reportedly one of Nvidia’s largest customers. Suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang — with whom the former Nvidia CEO admitted to having an affair — is an executive at Megaspeed.
Lutnick was accused of slow-rolling on putting Megaspeed on the Entity List, which caused Bessent to lose his patience.
When the news of Jensen Huang’s affair broke, Lutnick, Bessent, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer reportedly convened in the Situation Room.
Bessent confronted Lutnick about why the export controls had not already been put into place, and others in the room took Bessent’s side, according to the Axios report.
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Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during the Nvidia GTC global AI conference in San Jose, Calif., March 17, 2026. (Reuters/File)
Lutnick said he would have to discuss it with the president, despite Trump’s May and August orders to proceed.
The group then met with Trump later in the day at the Oval Office. The president reportedly gave the order again, saying, “Let’s get it done.”
Still, Lutnick wouldn’t proceed.
“I’ll develop some options and come back,” he said, to which the crowd replied that Trump’s decision was final, and that Lutnick must “go f—ing execute.”
Lutnick is at the center of the scandal, especially after it was revealed he received a memo informing him of U.S. intel that Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, and still did nothing to put the company she ran on the Entity List.
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Commerce Secretary Lutnick, President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Treasury Bessent, (Getty Images)
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A spokesperson for the Commerce Department didn’t directly address the report of his confrontation with Bessent.
“The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury have a great working relationship and are committed to advancing President Trump’s agenda,” Kristen Eichamer told Fox News.
She also said that Lutnick has proactively decided to appear before the Senate Banking Committee to answer questions on the matter. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10.
Bessent appeared on CNBC’s “Sqwuak Box” Thursday morning, where he was asked about the reported blow out.
He said that there was coordination between the various agencies about putting Megaspeed on the Entity List, but then referred further questions to the Commerce Department and Bureau of Industry and Security, saying, “You will have to ask them about their internal proceedings.”
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Jensen Huang resigned from his post as Nvidia CEO Thursday morning, and the company has reportedly opened an investigation into the affair.
The Treasury Department and White House did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Nvidia.
