(Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for Commerce secretary.
If confirmed, Lutnick would have a key role in carrying out Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs as part of his America First economic agenda.
“He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said in a statement.
Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration.
McMahon has recently been floated as Trump’s favored pick for Education secretary, although he has indicated that he eventually would like to dissolve the department altogether.
Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.
“In his role as Co-Chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team, Howard has created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen,” said the statement.
Lutnick’s confirmation would put him in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather.
It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.
An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use—we need to protect the American worker.”
Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China—and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. Meanwhile, he would incentivize the production of American goods with tax breaks.
Lutnick had been considered for Treasury secretary, a role that has been at the center of high-profile jockeying within the Trump world. At the same time, the Treasury position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Trump watches closely.
The news also comes after billionaire Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit called on Trump to dump previous front-runner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favor of Lutnick.
Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.”
Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback.
My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.
Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change… https://t.co/igGLZOJ8wz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2024
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
