U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for a major overhaul at Nvidia following the resignation of CEO Jensen Huang. Speaking on Fox News, Bessent questioned whether Nvidia engaged in illicit sales of its advanced AI chips to artificially boost earnings. He urged the company's board to consider an outside candidate for the next CEO and suggested other executives should face scrutiny over compliance with U.S. export controls.
Bessent's remarks come amid a growing feud with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the suspected diversion of Nvidia chips to China. Huang stepped down after revelations about his relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, which U.S. intelligence officials suspect of spying for China. Nvidia named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO.
Bessent also raised concerns about Nvidia's financial disclosures, pointing to a surge in reported Singapore revenue as China sales fell. He compared Nvidia's compliance issues to those of a bank, suggesting that multiple executives should be removed if it were under regulatory scrutiny. Meanwhile, Lutnick is facing scrutiny over his family's financial ties to Nvidia, with Cantor Fitzgerald, led by his sons, having arranged billions in financing for Nvidia's business partners.
Bessent defended President Donald Trump's handling of the matter, noting that Trump had authorized sales of Nvidia's H200 chips to approved Chinese customers in December, with the U.S. government receiving a 25% cut. His latest criticism comes ahead of Nvidia's first quarterly earnings report since Huang's departure.