NVIDIA crisis puts Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick under scrutiny

By Marcus Bennett

NVIDIA closed November 12, 2026 at $166.19, down 4.34%, leaving the chip maker with a $4.01 trillion market value on the day Jensen Huang resigned as president and chief executive officer.

At 7:59 p.m. Eastern Time, the shares traded at $167.82 after hours.

24/7 Wall St. reported on November 12 that senior White House officials were discussing whether to push Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick out over the NVIDIA scandal. The account relied on unnamed people familiar with the matter. No decision had been made. No departure had been announced.

The stakes extend beyond one Cabinet post. Commerce controls how much China-linked demand NVIDIA can serve, while Huang's immediate exit left the company without a permanent chief before its November 17 earnings report.

What changed at NVIDIA?

NVIDIA said on November 12 that Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and director, effective immediately. The announcement left the semiconductor company without a permanent leader during its fiscal third quarter.

Chief financial officer Colette Kress became interim chief executive and kept her finance role. The arrangement gave Kress responsibility for both the chief executive and chief financial officer functions.

Huang cited being unfaithful in a November 8 memo, according to 24/7 Wall St. NVIDIA's board opened an independent review, and the source said espionage concerns had been alleged.

24/7 Wall St. also connected the timing to further corporate troubles hitting Wall Street. The outlet assessed that board members likely began viewing Huang as a liability, rather than reporting that conclusion as a disclosed board finding.

Is Howard Lutnick's job actually at risk?

Only NVIDIA's leadership change was both signed and disclosed. The account of White House deliberations came from unnamed people familiar with the matter, leaving the political scenario unconfirmed.

A White House official pushed back, saying Trump “maintains complete confidence” in Lutnick and calling him “a champion of Trump's America First trade policy.” The statement directly countered the reported discussion about removing Lutnick.

The political record remains divided. NVIDIA's succession is official; Lutnick's possible departure is only the subject of reported internal discussion. The White House response carries more authority than the anonymous account, but neither represents a final personnel decision.

For NVIDIA, the appointment question affects export enforcement rather than the immediate succession. The Commerce secretary decides how much China-linked demand the chip maker can serve, according to 24/7 Wall St. That makes the role a market-access question, not only a personnel matter.

What can Commerce change for NVIDIA?

The Entity List is a trade blacklist that blocks covered sales without a license. The United States had added no companies to it since October 2025, according to 24/7 Wall St.

The source said that pause included DeepSeek, CXMT and more than 100 other flagged companies. The Commerce Department had held those companies off a list capable of blocking transactions that require a government license.

Lutnick reportedly resisted adding Singapore-based Megaspeed to the Entity List. Megaspeed has bought more than $4.8 billion of advanced NVIDIA artificial intelligence chips since June 2024.

Rep. John Moolenaar said he was hearing that Trump directed Megaspeed to be banned three times. His account remained secondhand and did not establish that Commerce had issued a final prohibition.

24/7 Wall St. said a tougher Commerce secretary could close buyers such as Megaspeed. Megaspeed is private and has no verifiable financials, leaving investors unable to measure its purchasing capacity from public accounts.

How much financial damage can stricter export controls cause?

NVIDIA's direct damage to reported numbers looks limited. Fiscal third-quarter guidance of $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, already excludes all Data Center computing revenue from China.

NVIDIA has not disclosed how much revenue moves through intermediaries. That reporting gap limits any precise calculation of sales that a stricter Commerce Department might stop.

24/7 Wall St. said stricter Commerce enforcement would mostly limit sales NVIDIA already excluded from its forecasts. The outlet also cited $279.0 billion in supply commitments, which it said pointed to demand from buyers outside China.

Its conclusion was that continued customer orders under interim leadership mattered more than the identity of the Commerce secretary. The $279.0 billion figure still depends on buyers honoring commitments while NVIDIA lacks a permanent chief executive.

24/7 Wall St. nevertheless argued that the fundamentals looked stronger than the headlines. NVIDIA shares had fallen 27.28% over one month, while the stock traded at 33 times earnings. Fiscal second-quarter revenue had grown 105.8%, with no China Data Center computing sales included in that result.

That view fails if NVIDIA reports revenue below the bottom of its guidance range on November 17. It also fails if Commerce adds Megaspeed and similar non-Chinese buyers to the Entity List before the requested December 10 testimony.

The source also advised readers to watch whether the stock held above its $166.19 close. That level, rather than the White House reports alone, supplied its immediate market reference.

What is Congress preparing to do?

Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott asked Huang to testify on December 3 and Lutnick on December 10. No hearing had been scheduled for either date, and Lutnick had not publicly agreed to appear.

Republican reaction split across four positions:

• Sen. Thom Tillis called the episode disqualifying.
• Sen. John Kennedy supported a subpoena if needed.
• Sens. Jim Justice, Rick Scott and Mike Rounds urged the Senate to wait for facts.
• House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast continued to support Lutnick.

The split defines the next procedural steps: testimony requests, document preservation and the threat of a subpoena.

24/7 Wall St. expected oversight to become tougher in January, when Sen. Elizabeth Warren takes over Senate Banking. Warren and Sen. Chris Coons had asked the administration to keep all documents on NVIDIA's AI chip exports to China.

The request covers the broader export record rather than only the two requested appearances. Those documents could place any government instructions involving Megaspeed or other intermediaries within Congress's inquiry.

What should readers watch on November 17?

NVIDIA now enters its earnings report without a permanent leader, while its interim chief executive also runs finance. The report is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, at approximately 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time.

The source's analysis sets three market checkpoints:

• NVIDIA reports revenue below the bottom of its $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, fiscal third-quarter guidance range.
• Commerce adds Megaspeed and similar non-Chinese buyers to the Entity List before December 10.
• NVIDIA stock holds above the $166.19 close.

For NVIDIA, the next two dates carry the immediate test: November 17 for demand under interim leadership and December 10 for Lutnick's requested testimony. The $166.19 close provides the market baseline as both questions remain open.