U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a dramatic shakeup at Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) on Sunday, questioning whether the chipmaker pursued illicit sales to boost earnings.
Bessent Urges Nvidia to Appoint an Outside Chief Executive
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Nvidia’s board to appoint an outside chief executive following Jensen Huang’s resignation.
- Bessent questioned whether the chip giant pushed illicit sales to inflate its revenue metrics.
- The public rebuke arrives as top cabinet officials are expected to accompany President Donald Trump to China this week for meetings at the APEC summit.
Bessent Suggests Scrutiny over Nvidia Sales and Leadership
Bessent urged Nvidia’s board to look outside the company for its next chief executive. He also suggested other executives should face scrutiny over the chip giant’s compliance with U.S. export controls.
“I want to keep coming back to what was the culture at Nvidia, and were they pressing these seemingly illicit sales to goose their revenues and their earnings?”
Bessent said in an interview on Fox News. The remarks follow the resignation of Jensen Huang on Thursday. Huang stepped down after revelations about his relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed.
U.S. intelligence officials suspect Megaspeed of spying for China and diverting advanced artificial intelligence chips in violation of U.S. export controls. Nvidia named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO following the departure.
Regulatory Scrutiny Over Singapore Revenue Divergence
Bessent suggested that Nvidia’s problems extended well beyond its former leader. He pointed to a surge in reported Singapore revenue as China sales fell.
“If this were a bank and they hadn’t complied like this, the OCC would be in there right now, and a lot of the executives would be removed.”
Bessent said, referring to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Nvidia stopped separately reporting Singapore revenue in November 2025. The company stated at the time that a new methodology based on customers’ headquarters rather than billing addresses better reflected its geographic distribution.
The public rebuke follows reporting by Axios that Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the White House Situation Room over the Commerce Department’s failure to act against Megaspeed. Commerce denied that the confrontation took place.
Cabinet Friction Ahead of APEC Summit Meetings
Both Bessent and Lutnick are expected to accompany President Trump to China, Semafor reported Sunday. As the commander-in-chief gets ready to hold discussions with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, the journey brings the two Cabinet members along by his side.
In the wake of growing questions regarding his management of the Nvidia situation, a White House representative informed Reuters on Thursday that the administration maintains total trust in Lutnick. On Sunday, Bessent said that Trump had established a strict restriction prohibiting shipments to China of chips more advanced than the Nvidia H200.
| Official / Executive | Role / Affiliation | Recent Development |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Bessent | U.S. Treasury Secretary | Called for an outside CEO and investigated compliance. |
| Jensen Huang | Nvidia | Resigned Thursday amid scrutiny over Megaspeed ties. |
| Colette Kress | CFO and Interim CEO, Nvidia | Named interim chief executive following Huang’s departure. |
| Howard Lutnick | U.S. Commerce Secretary | Facing scrutiny over export enforcement and family financial ties. |
Lutnick also faces scrutiny over his family’s financial ties to Nvidia. Cantor Fitzgerald—the Wall Street institution previously directed by Lutnick and currently headed by his sons—has assisted in securing billions in funding for business partners of Nvidia, according to a Friday report by CNBC.
Cantor said that Nvidia share holdings fell nearly 50% over six months as national security concerns surrounding Huang escalated. The positions were associated with client swap transactions rather than proprietary investments, according to the investment bank.
Investigators have uncovered no proof that Lutnick passed confidential details to his offspring, nor is there any indication that Cantor executed trades based on such data. Bessent’s remarks came two days before Nvidia is scheduled to report its first quarterly earnings since Huang’s departure.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
