Washington DC - President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing growing scrutiny over his leadership and alleged ties to rules regarding the sale of AI chips.

According to The New York Times, a data center known as A201, set to open next year in Malaysia, will house Nvidia's most advanced AI servers and supply computing power to a Chinese tech firm.

The company running the center is a client of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm formerly led by Lutnick.

With Lutnick's sons now leading the company, the connections have fueled concerns of a conflict of interest or even corruption.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez AOC gets major 2028 presidential push from New York City's Democratic Socialists

At the same time, Lutnick has used his role to soften restrictions that would otherwise crack down on data centers like A201 that power Chinese firms.

The situation has gotten the attention of politicians from both sides of the aisle – including MAGA Republicans – in light of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation following an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Republican Senator and Trump loyalist Tim Scott of South Carolina recently sent out a letter calling for both Huang and Lutnick to answer questions before the Senate Banking Committee.

When asked about the scandal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that multiple departments within the Trump administration pushed to add Megaspeed – the firm led by the alleged Chinese spy involved with Huang – to an Entity List that would ban it from acquiring advanced AI chips.

He then seemed to throw Lutnick under the bus by adding that "Commerce has the pen."

Donald Trump Trump blames Biden in first public comments on air travel ground stop: "Our FAA is doing a great job"

Democrats – who took back control of the House and Senate during the midterm elections earlier this month – are also calling for Lutnick to be investigated.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Congressman Jim Hines of Connecticut revealed the House Intelligence Committee, which he is a member of, has also asked Lutnick to sit for questioning.

Axios reports that several Trump administration members believe Lutnick may not be able to survive the latest controversy, but the president is continuing to stand by him.

According to Semafor, Trump is planning to take Lutnick along with him during his visit to China this week, while an administration official claimed the chip scandal "should not really have any bearing on the trip."