Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that Nvidia’s board should hire its next chief executive from outside the company — and that the board and its outside counsel owe the government answers within 10 days on whether Nvidia pushed “seemingly illicit” chip sales to China to lift its earnings. Why it matters: the U.S. Treasury is now publicly setting deadlines and governance demands for the world’s most important AI chip company, three days after Jensen Huang’s resignation and two days before its first earnings report without him.
November 15, 2026
What Bessent said
Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, Bessent called for a “dramatic shakeup” at Nvidia and said the company should “go outside the company” to replace Huang, who resigned on November 12 after 33 years as CEO. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is serving as interim chief executive.
His sharper demand was about export controls. “I want to keep coming back to what was the culture at Nvidia, and were they pressing these seemingly illicit sales to goose their revenues and their earnings?” Bessent said. “I think we need answers in the next 10 days from the board and from the outside counsel.” That clock runs to roughly November 25. The board’s independent directors have already hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim, on November 10, to run an independent investigation.
The allegations underneath
The questions center on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based, Alibaba-backed data center company accused of diverting restricted Nvidia chips to China between March 2024 and June 2025 despite U.S. export controls. The Wall Street Journal’s latest reporting puts the supply at close to $12 billion, up from the $7.5 billion figure reported earlier. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing, China has denied the related espionage allegation, and the Justice Department has not reached a conclusion. These are allegations, not findings — but they have already cost Nvidia its founder-CEO and, by one tally, more than $1.2 trillion in market value since the scandal broke in late October.
Bessent also aimed at his own administration, blaming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s department for stalling a trade-blacklist listing of Megaspeed that he said Treasury, the Defense Department, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the State Department had backed for months. Separately, reports say Nvidia’s board has sounded out Arm chief executive Rene Haas, who spent seven years at Nvidia, about the CEO job. Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Bessent’s remarks.
Why it matters
For subscribers, the practical read is timing. Nvidia reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, November 17 — its first results under Kress — and now faces a public, dated demand from the Treasury Secretary to explain its compliance culture, on top of whatever the independent investigation finds. Whether the answers point to a low-level failure or knowledge in the C-suite, as Bessent framed it, will shape not just Nvidia’s leadership search but how hard Washington leans on every AI chip sale routed through third countries. Everything AI runs on these chips; tested against the record so far, this is the rare Washington story that can move the whole sector’s costs.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly did Bessent ask Nvidia to do?
Two things: hire its next CEO from outside the company as part of a “dramatic shakeup,” and have the board and its outside counsel answer within 10 days whether Nvidia pressed “seemingly illicit” sales to China to boost revenue and earnings.
Has Nvidia been found to have broken export rules?
No. The China-sales claims are allegations under investigation. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing, China has denied the espionage allegation, and the Justice Department has not reached a conclusion.
Who is running Nvidia now?
CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO following Jensen Huang’s November 12 resignation. Reports say the board has sounded out Arm CEO Rene Haas about the permanent job.
When does Nvidia report earnings?
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 — its first quarterly report since Huang’s exit.
Sources: Bloomberg, Fox News, The Times, New York Post, Axios