Two top Trump Cabinet officials go to war over China spy scandal amid explosive accusations: report
A White House Situation Room meeting reportedly turned into a blowout between two of President Donald Trump's Cabinet secretaries after news broke that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with a suspect Chinese spy.
Key points
- AMERICA AND CHINA ARE FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE OF AI — CHIPS ARE THE BATTLEFIELD CHINA ‘THROWING GASOLINE ON THE FIRE’ IN AI DATA CENTERS RACE, SAY LAWMAKERS A spokesperson for the Commerce Department didn't directly address the report of Lutnick's confrontation with Bessent.
- Tempers apparently boiled over regarding claims Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dragged his feet on placing restrictions on a company run by a suspected Chinese spy with whom Huang admitted to having an affair, even after the Cabinet official received an intel memo informing him of the potential threat.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly confronted Lutnick about that in the meeting, and other Cabinet officials took Bessent's side, according to Axios.
A SPY TOOK OUT NVIDIA’S CEO; HERE’S HOW AMERICA STILL WINS THE AI RACE Three times — in May, August and last Thursday — Trump approved taking action against companies believed to be diverting Nvidia chips to China, according to Axios.
Additional details
- The group replied that Trump's decision was final and that Lutnick must "go f---ing execute." Lutnick is at the center of the scandal, especially after it was revealed he received a memo informing him about U.S.
- "The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury have a great working relationship and are committed to advancing President Trump’s agenda," Kristen Eichamer told Fox News.
- Bessent confronted Lutnick about why the export controls had not already been put into place, and others in the room took Bessent's side, according to the Axios report.
- intelligence that Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy and still did nothing to put the company she ran on the Entity List.
- When the news of Jensen Huang's affair broke, Lutnick, Bessent, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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