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GOP pressure on Lutnick grows as Trump's Nvidia stock trades draw scrutiny

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Summary

  • An analysis found Donald Trump bought millions of dollars of Nvidia stock while his administration decided China chip export policies benefiting the company.
  • His administration rescinded a Biden-era AI chip export rule in May 2025 and allowed Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China in December 2025.
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly delayed chip export restrictions, drawing criticism from lawmakers and other administration officials.
  • Trump was twice briefed that Alice Huang, partner of then-Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, was a suspected Chinese asset and did not act on it.
  • Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia chief executive in November 2026, and lawmakers are seeking congressional testimony on the export decisions.
  • China accounted for about a quarter of Nvidia's sales between 2010 and 2022, making it one of the chipmaker's largest markets.

Reactions

  • Sen. Jim Banks said Howard Lutnick's failure to close loopholes allowed Nvidia chips to flow to China.
  • Rep. John Moolenaar questioned how much Jensen Huang influenced export controls and said Congress needs answers.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Treasury, the trade office, Defense, and State backed Megaspeed restrictions for months while Commerce failed to act.
  • The Commerce Department denied the Bessent-Lutnick confrontation happened and called claims of a chill on its actions false and reckless.
  • Sen. Tim Scott sent letters to Howard Lutnick and Jensen Huang seeking their participation in a public hearing on national security concerns.
  • The anti-corruption group DeKleptocracy wrote that Trump's corruption may have motivated him to deliver AI industry technology to China.

Related

Timeline newest first

  1. President Donald Trump asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on three occasions to pursue restrictions on exports of Nvidia's most powerful computer chips.
  2. Republican criticism of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick grew, with lawmakers demanding he explain his inaction on limiting Nvidia computer chip exports to China.
  3. Rep. John Moolenaar said Jensen Huang and other Nvidia executives agreed to testify before Congress at a closed-door session.
  4. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters to Howard Lutnick and Jensen Huang seeking their participation in a public hearing on Nvidia and Commerce Department national security concerns.
  5. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Howard Lutnick, asking why he had not taken action on Nvidia chip exports.
  6. An analysis found Donald Trump bought between $1 million and $5 million of Nvidia stock in the days before his administration rescinded the AI chip export rule in May 2025.
  7. Donald Trump said in December 2025 he would allow Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China, then made at least three more Nvidia stock purchases.
  8. Donald Trump was twice briefed by US intelligence officials on their conclusion that Alice Huang was a Chinese asset and did not act on it.
  9. Nvidia made a $25 million contribution to Donald Trump's ballroom in October 2025.
  10. Scott Bessent said Treasury, the US Trade Representative, the Defense Department, and the State Department supported placing Megaspeed International on the US entity list for months, with decisions resting with the Commerce Department.
  11. Howard Lutnick repeatedly delayed or deferred technology controls on Nvidia chip sales throughout 2026, according to current and former officials.
  12. Scott Bessent confronted Howard Lutnick at a White House meeting in early November 2026, demanding to know why the United States had not banned chip sales to Megaspeed.
  13. A Commerce Department spokeswoman denied the confrontation happened and called the idea that President Trump's relationship with Jensen Huang chilled the department false and reckless.
  14. A Commerce Department inquiry into whether Megaspeed smuggled Nvidia chips into China was shut down in late 2025 and transferred to the Justice Department after Nvidia counsel Tim Teter contacted investigators.
  15. Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter was given direct access to leave comments in draft regulations affecting the company.
  16. Jensen Huang stepped down as Nvidia chief executive in November 2026, sending the company's shares tumbling.
  17. At his January 2025 confirmation hearing, Howard Lutnick promised a tough stance on oversight of technology sales to China, saying the United States needed to stop helping China's artificial intelligence progress.
  18. The Commerce Department approved the Chinese firm New Matrix, which shows little evidence of existing, to assemble Nvidia's advanced H200 chips into AI computers.
  19. The Commerce Department appeared to have approved roughly two dozen Chinese firms, including Baidu, BYD, and Tesla Shanghai, to buy or handle Nvidia H200 chips.
  20. Several Chinese companies approved to purchase or assemble H200 chips had ties to firms blacklisted by the US government or working as Chinese military contractors.
  21. Donald Trump disclosed holding $1 million to $5 million of Nvidia stock in first-quarter filings, shortly before the United States approved H200 exports to about 10 Chinese companies.
  22. Nvidia shares rose 4 percent, pushing the company's market cap above $5.7 trillion, after the H200 export approval was announced in China.

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