White House weighs Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s ouster amid Nvidia export concerns, sources say

WASHINGTON: Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out amid a spy scandal surrounding Nvidia’s now-former CEO Jensen Huang, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

A growing number of lawmakers criticized Lutnick for the administration’s refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist, and over whether the government was properly overseeing Nvidia’s exports to China.

Criticism of Lutnick’s actions predates Thursday’s resignation of Huang, who said he would step down as CEO of the leading AI chipmaker after reports of an affair with Alice Huang, whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing.