WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A growing number of lawmakers are criticizing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the administration's refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist, and whether the government was properly overseeing Nvidia's exports to China.
Criticism of Lutnick's actions predates Thursday's resignation of Nvidia's (NVDA.O), Jensen Huang, who announced he would step down as CEO of the leading AI chipmaker after revelations of an affair with a woman that US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. But the charge that Lutnick has not done enough to restrict AI chip shipments to China have bubbled up as the fallout of Huang's actions grows.
"Secretary Howard Lutnick and Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler must explain why they have not closed export control loopholes and act today to ensure our advanced technology is not fueling China’s military," Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, said.
Nvidia's Huang supported more exports to China, despite a constant flow of criticism from China hawks from both parties to crack down on Beijing's access to the technology.
A White House official said President Donald Trump "maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position." The Commerce Department did not immediately comment.
Republican Senator John Kennedy told Politico needs to answer questions about approving advanced US chip sales to China.
Axios reported Wednesday that Lutnick stalled Trump's crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia's chips to China.
In June, Reuters reported that the Trump administration had held off from adding China’s AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks to a trade blacklist.
The US has not posted any additions to its Entity List since October 2025, the longest stretch between new postings in more than a decade.
The Republican chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday urged Lutnick to bar CXMT (688825.SS), from the US market and deny it access to American technologies.
Senator Tom Cotton said in a letter Thursday that CXMT "poses a growing risk to our economic prosperity and military superiority.
The US must take action to prevent CXMT from gaining a stronger foothold in the global market."
CXMT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by David Gaffen
