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Lawmakers want export records preserved and an account of how Commerce handled Megaspeed, a customer suspected of routing restricted chips to China.
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The oversight fight now spans both the suspected chip route and the government’s handling of the case: Commerce opened a Megaspeed probe in 2024, later transferred to the Justice Department, and senators want the transfer and enforcement choices explained. Warren and Coons seek confirmation by November 17 that records are being preserved, while Bennet set a November 24 deadline for a multi-agency response. The allegations of diversion and intelligence activity remain unproven; the answers could clarify how U.S. export controls apply to overseas purchases and data-center access.
Bennet asked Commerce whether it could have required licenses for Megaspeed shipments or added the company to the Entity List.
His letter also seeks details on intelligence-sharing and coordination with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Warren and Coons want records covering contacts between Nvidia executives and senior Trump administration officials, chip-smuggling investigations, and export-control changes.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faces demands to explain why his department has not closed loopholes in AI-chip export controls. On November 12, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Lutnick and deputy Jeffrey Kessler for answers, CBS News reported, following senators’ formal requests to preserve Nvidia export records and explain the investigation into suspected chip diversion through Megaspeed.
Warren called on the two officials to “act today to ensure our advanced technology is not fueling China's military.” Kessler, the Commerce undersecretary, led the department’s investigation into Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer suspected of redirecting advanced chips to China.
The suspected route involves purchases outside China, rather than direct shipments approved for Chinese buyers. In a letter published November 11, Senator Michael Bennet described allegations that Megaspeed’s Southeast Asian operations acquired advanced Nvidia hardware that might then be diverted to China. He also raised concerns about Chinese customers remotely accessing restricted chips through overseas data centers.
Bennet asked Commerce to detail whether it had used available tools to stop Megaspeed buying chips. Those include notifying Nvidia that certain shipments require a license and potentially adding Megaspeed to the Entity List. That list restricts foreign companies’ access to U.S. technology when Commerce identifies national-security or foreign-policy risks.
Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security opened its investigation in 2024 to determine whether Nvidia chips sold to Megaspeed were reaching China. The probe was subsequently transferred to the Justice Department, according to New York Times reporting cited by CBS. That transfer is now among the decisions lawmakers want explained.
CBS also reported that Commerce had not added a company to the Entity List since October 2025. The department did not respond to CBS’s request for comment, while Justice declined to comment on the investigation.
Questions also remain regarding whether or not prudent defensive counter-intelligence action was taken or national security recommendations were overruled.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, in their records-preservation letter
Warren and Senator Chris Coons announced their records-preservation request on November 11. Addressed to Lutnick, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, it seeks written confirmation by November 17 that their offices have issued preservation directives.
Their request covers three areas of decision-making:
The senators also requested a congressional briefing about a reported intelligence operation involving a Megaspeed executive close to Jensen Huang. Their announcement describes her as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who may have passed sensitive information to Beijing. Those allegations are the basis for their oversight demands, not findings established by the letter.
Bennet’s separate letter sets a November 24 response deadline for Commerce, Justice, State and the Director of National Intelligence. Beyond an investigation update, he wants an account of intelligence-sharing across agencies and coordination with Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to address potential export violations.
The enforcement questions have also drawn attention to Lutnick’s relationship with Huang. CBS reported that critics questioned whether their friendship and Lutnick’s business ties affected Commerce’s oversight. Before his nomination, Lutnick led Cantor Fitzgerald, which held about $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock. He resigned his corporate leadership posts before becoming commerce secretary in February 2025.
Huang described ready access to Lutnick’s office in a Joe Rogan interview last year, according to CBS. He recalled Lutnick offering access to the president and administration whenever needed. The senators’ records request seeks communications that could illuminate those contacts alongside the government’s export decisions.
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