Senior White House officials are discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should remain in his position following the growing controversy surrounding Nvidia and its former CEO, Jensen Huang, who was reportedly involved in a relationship with Alice Huang, a woman suspected by US authorities of spying for China.
An increasing number of lawmakers have criticised Lutnick for refusing to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist and have questioned whether the government adequately monitored Nvidia’s chip exports to China.
Criticism of Lutnick’s handling of the issue began before Huang’s resignation on Thursday. The former head of the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker announced he would step down as CEO following revelations about his alleged affair with Alice Huang, whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing.
However, allegations that Lutnick failed to do enough to restrict shipments of artificial intelligence chips to China have intensified as the fallout from the Nvidia controversy continues to grow.
A White House official, responding to criticism of Lutnick, told Reuters that President Donald Trump “has full confidence in the Secretary and his ability to serve in this role.”
