Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee next month, bowing to bipartisan pressure as the fallout from Nvidia's chip-export scandal spreads from Silicon Valley into the halls of Congress.

A spokesperson for Lutnick, Kristen Eichamer, said he "proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the Banking Committee to address their questions," with the hearing set for Dec. 10, according to CBS News. Committee Chairman Tim Scott had formally requested the hearing to probe recent public reports about Nvidia and the Commerce Department's role in the scandal, which centers on allegations that advanced AI chips were illegally diverted to China. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who resigned this week amid a separate scandal, has also been asked to testify before the same committee on Dec. 3.

The Megaspeed Question

At the heart of the controversy is Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company that four separate federal agencies — the Pentagon, State Department, Energy Department and Treasury — reportedly pushed to add to the Commerce Department's export blacklist, according to a Financial Times report relayed by AI Weekly. Megaspeed's Malaysian subsidiary is alleged to have purchased at least $4.8 billion worth of advanced AI equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and early 2025. Commerce has not added a single company to the Entity List in more than a year — the longest such stretch in 18 years — and the Justice Department has since opened a criminal inquiry into the firm.

Bessent has pointed to Lutnick's Commerce Department as the agency responsible for failing to close the loophole that allowed the alleged diversion, intensifying a public rift between two of the administration's top economic officials.

WHY HAVE THEY NOT CLOSED EXPORT CONTROL LOOPHOLES

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is set to chair the Banking Committee when Democrats take control in January, has demanded that Lutnick and Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler explain why known export-control gaps were never closed. Lutnick has pushed back on broader criticism of his department's China policy, saying earlier this year that "we are not selling our best chips to China under any circumstance."

What's Next

Lawmakers have signaled they are prepared to issue subpoenas if either Lutnick or Huang fails to show up for their respective hearings. The Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 sessions are expected to dominate the Banking Committee's lame-duck agenda before Democrats formally take the gavel in January.