Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took the Trump administration's fiercest internal fight over China and Nvidia chips onto live television on Friday, publicly blaming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department for failing to blacklist Megaspeed, the Singapore-based Nvidia customer accused of funnelling advanced American AI chips to China. The rebuke came hours before The Wall Street Journal reported that Lutnick is fighting for his job, with senior Trump aides shifting blame for the Nvidia fallout onto him. The White House insisted Trump still has "complete confidence" in Lutnick, but the split between two cabinet secretaries has turned an export-control dispute into a test of who controls America's China chip policy.

Key Points

• Bessent said on CNBC on Friday, November 13, that four agencies had favoured putting Megaspeed on the entity list "for months" — but "Commerce has the pen."
• He said he was "frustrated" because Trump had made it very clear that China should not receive Nvidia chips above the H100 level.
• Bessent also asked whether Nvidia made a "robust effort" to stop leakage through "pass-through shell companies" for China.
• The Wall Street Journal reported Lutnick is fighting for his job after an Oval Office confrontation, and that Commerce is rushing a rule to limit chip shipments to Southeast Asia.
• The White House said Trump "maintains complete confidence" in Lutnick, calling him "a champion" of his America First trade policies.

What Happened

Bessent appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday morning, November 13, 2026, and did what cabinet secretaries almost never do on live television: he named a colleague's department as the reason a national security measure had not happened. "Treasury, War, [the Office of the US Trade Representative], and State were in favor of putting Megaspeed on the entity list for months, but Commerce has the pen. You will have to ask them about their internal processes," he said. The entity list is the Commerce Department's blacklist, which bars American firms from selling sensitive technology to named companies without a licence.

Bessent said his frustration came from the president's own orders: Trump "made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s." Yet Megaspeed, which US officials say bought billions of dollars' worth of Nvidia chips, has never been added to the list. Asked about the dispute, Bessent added: "We don't repeat conversations in the Situation Room."

Background: The Megaspeed Scandal So Far

Megaspeed began as a Chinese video-game developer and grew into one of the largest buyers of Nvidia chips in Asia, buying more than $4 billion worth by some estimates. US officials say the Singapore-based firm diverted advanced Nvidia processors to China, circumventing export controls meant to keep the most powerful AI chips out of Beijing's hands.

The scandal exploded when it emerged that Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, whom US intelligence suspects of being a Chinese intelligence asset, had an affair with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. The two Huangs are not related. Jensen Huang resigned on November 12 after 33 years, as Nvidia's board opened an independent inquiry.

Commerce has investigated Megaspeed since 2024 but has not blacklisted it, and has added no company to the entity list in over a year. Lutnick's firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, held about $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock when Trump nominated him. Bessent confronted Lutnick in the Situation Room on November 5; Axios reported Trump approved a crackdown three times, only for Lutnick to stall it. The White House has weighed pushing Lutnick out, and he will testify to Congress on December 10.

Bessent Blames Lutnick for Megaspeed Failure

Bessent's message was precise: the failure was not a policy disagreement, but a failure of process inside Commerce. Four agencies had favoured action for months, he said. Only Commerce, which holds the pen on the entity list, had not moved — a framing that isolates Lutnick as the lone obstacle while presenting the rest of the national security cabinet as united.

Bessent also pressed Nvidia: "Did Nvidia know their client? Was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage and that they weren't selling to what were obviously pass-through shell companies [for China]?" The Journal reported that Commerce is now rushing a rule to limit chip sales to Southeast Asia, the region through which US officials believe the chips were routed to China.

Reactions and Quotes

The White House moved quickly to stand by Lutnick. "President Trump maintains complete confidence in the secretary," a spokesperson said, calling him "a champion of President Trump's America First trade and tariff policies." The statement did not address Bessent's charge that Commerce had sat on the blacklisting for months.

Bessent's refusal to discuss the private clash — "We don't repeat conversations in the Situation Room" — signalled the public rebuke was deliberate. Trump has backed Lutnick in public while, according to Axios, approving the very crackdown Lutnick is accused of stalling.

Why It Matters

The fight is over who decides whether America's most advanced technology reaches China. The entity list is the government's sharpest export-control tool, and Commerce controls it. If a firm accused of funnelling AI chips to Beijing can stay off the list for months while four agencies push for action, the system itself is in question. Advanced Nvidia processors power the AI systems both countries see as decisive for economic and military power, and every chip that reaches China through a shell company narrows the gap Washington's controls were built to preserve.

What Happens Next

Commerce is rushing a rule to limit chip shipments to Southeast Asia, the Journal reported, and the test is whether it covers the routes Megaspeed is believed to have used — and whether Megaspeed itself is finally added to the entity list. Lutnick testifies to Congress on December 10, and Alice Huang has been asked to brief lawmakers behind closed doors on November 18. Trump must now decide whether his public confidence in Lutnick survives a cabinet split his own treasury secretary has made impossible to ignore.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Megaspeed?
A Singapore-based firm, once a Chinese video-game developer, that became one of Asia's largest buyers of Nvidia chips — more than $4 billion worth, by some estimates. US officials accuse it of diverting advanced chips to China; it denies wrongdoing.

Why hasn't Megaspeed been blacklisted?
Bessent says four agencies favoured adding it to the entity list for months, but Commerce, which controls the list, did not act. Commerce has added no company to the list in over a year.

What did Bessent actually say?
"Treasury, War, [the Office of the US Trade Representative], and State were in favor of putting Megaspeed on the entity list for months, but Commerce has the pen," he told CNBC on November 13.

Is Lutnick going to be fired?
The White House says Trump "maintains complete confidence" in him. But the Journal reported he is fighting for his job as senior aides blame him for the Nvidia fallout.

What happens to Nvidia now?
Chief executive Jensen Huang resigned on November 12, the board has opened an inquiry, Congress wants briefings, and the Justice Department is probing related smuggling claims. Shares have fallen sharply.