Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for failing to block Megaspeed

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has committed to providing testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10, as the scrutiny intensifies over the Commerce Department's handling of the export of advanced AI chips, following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation. Republicans are pushing for Lutnick to answer questions regarding the Commerce Department's alleged delay in adding Singapore-based firm Megaspeed International to the U.S. Entity List, which would have restricted the company's access to advanced AI chips.

Megaspeed was previously headed by Alice Huang, a figure suspected of being a Chinese spy with a romantic entanglement with Nvidia's Jensen Huang. The U.S. government suspects Megaspeed of facilitating the transfer of Nvidia chips to China, bypassing a U.S. export ban. Senate Banking Committee member GOP Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, speaking to Fox News on Thursday, alleged that "we know that the Department of Commerce, Secretary Lutnick, it appears, used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales to occur even though President Trump has directed his administration and the Department of Commerce not to allow that to happen."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on Friday, squarely pointed the blame at the Commerce Department, stating that "Treasury, War, [the U.S. Trade Representative] and State, they were in favor of putting Megaspeed on the Entity List for months, but Commerce has the pen." Bessent declined to comment on reported tensions between himself and Lutnick. The Commerce Department did not immediately provide a response to CBS News' request for comment.