“I need to check with the president,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick muttered in a Situation Room meeting as senior administration officials confronted him over chip export policy.
Senior White House officials are discussing whether Howard Lutnick should be pushed out as Commerce Secretary amid a spy scandal surrounding the departure of Nvidia’s former chief executive, Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
Lutnick Resists Export Controls on Nvidia Chips to China
Lutnick has repeatedly resisted efforts by other Trump administration officials to restrict companies suspected of diverting advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China, according to six high-level sources familiar with the internal discussions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick during a meeting in the Situation Room regarding the administration’s reluctance to impose export controls, specifically focusing on Megaspeed. Megaspeed is at the center of the espionage fallout involving Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence suspects of being a Chinese agent.
While Lutnick appeared to agree during the Situation Room confrontation, his muttered comment about checking with the president raised concerns among officials who believed previous potential export restrictions had been stalled. “He’s stalling it out,” said one official, describing how Lutnick had previously met privately with Donald Trump to alter export limitations.
Following the Situation Room meeting, officials moved to the Oval Office where Trump consulted technology adviser Elon Musk. Musk supported the case made by Bessent, National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to impose the controls. Lutnick warned that the action “will start a trade war with China.”
“Everyone argued back that China is already doing to us what Lutnick warned would happen,” a source said.
With Lutnick as the sole holdout, Trump gave the final authorization, stating, “Let’s get it done.” However, Lutnick resisted efforts to restrict companies suspected of diverting Nvidia AI chips to China. “I’ll develop some options and come back,” he said, prompting a frustrated response from others in the room who told him to execute the decision.
Lutnick Faces Congressional Criticism over Stagnant Trade Blacklist
The administration's refusal to place scores of Chinese firms onto a US trade blacklist has brought congressional criticism down upon Lutnick.
The Commerce Department has not posted any additions to that list since October 2025, marking the longest stretch between new postings in more than a decade. In June 2025, Reuters reported that the administration had held off from adding AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT, and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks due to concerns about escalating tensions with Beijing.
“Secretary Howard Lutnick and undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler must explain why they have not closed export control loopholes and act today to ensure our advanced technology is not fuelling China’s military,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Warren, who is set to chair the Senate Banking Committee in January, and incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, sent a letter to Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The senators demanded the preservation of all documents related to Nvidia’s exports of advanced AI chips to China and associated national security risks.
The administration’s greenlighting of high-end Nvidia chip transactions with Chinese buyers tied to the Chinese military, government, and blacklisted enterprises also drew inquiries from Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Massachusetts Democratic Representative Richard Neal, serving as the senior-most Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, respectively.
Lawmaker Reactions
Republicans have also weighed in on the unfolding situation. Congressman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said that Congress must investigate the Commerce Department’s chip export approval process while noting his confidence in Lutnick.
Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, told Politico that Lutnick needs to answer questions regarding the approval of advanced US chip sales to China. Meanwhile, Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged Lutnick to bar CXMT from the US market and deny it access to American technologies.
Despite the mounting pressure and discussions among senior White House officials regarding his tenure, a White House official maintained that President Donald Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position.”
