US Domestic — 2026-11-15

MAGA Turns on Commerce Secretary Lutnick Amid China Spy Scandal Linked to Huang Affair

BLUFCommerce will likely add Megaspeed to the Entity List within the next 30 days, as converging Cabinet pressure, a fresh presidential order, and Lutnick's December 10 Senate testimony make further obstruction politically untenable.

Axios reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received a classified memo, drafted under Secretary of State Marco Rubio before Trump's May China trip, warning of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed 12. Axios sources said Lutnick ignored it and delayed placing Megaspeed on the Entity List despite Trump's approvals in May, August and last Thursday; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC that Commerce "has the pen" 23. Fox News, citing Axios, reported Bessent confronted Lutnick in a Situation Room meeting, and the Commerce Department called Axios's reports inaccurate 23. Huang resigned Thursday, and Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10 34.

Analysis
The story has shifted from routine cabinet engagement to a counterintelligence scandal, with Huang resigned and Lutnick due before Senate Banking on December 10. The Commerce Department will likely add Megaspeed to the Entity List within the next 30 days. Confidence is low because the case rests on a single original Axios stream, with CNBC and Fox only amplifying it, and because no Federal Register filing or Commerce statement commits to a date after Lutnick failed to act on three presidential approvals. Treasury, State, War and USTR now support the listing, Trump ordered it again, and the hearing raises the cost of delay. Commerce denies the reporting, however, and Trump still defends Lutnick. The leaks may mainly be rivals' effort to force Lutnick out, which would make any listing a byproduct of his departure. If Megaspeed is listed, Nvidia and other exporters must halt shipments. If it is not listed by mid-December, Senate Banking is pushed toward subpoenas.

4 sources