Trump Nominates Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary

The Cantor Fitzgerald CEO and 9/11 survivor is tasked with leading the administration's protectionist trade agenda.

Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been nominated as Commerce Secretary in the incoming administration.
Lutnick, a Long Island native, is known for his philanthropic efforts following 9/11, where his firm lost 658 employees, including his brother, in the World Trade Center attacks.
As Commerce Secretary, Lutnick would oversee the administration’s ambitious tariff and trade policies, including proposed blanket tariffs on imports and potential renegotiation of USMCA trade agreements.
Lutnick’s nomination has raised questions about his expertise in trade, as he is a financial executive with limited experience in international trade policy.
The nomination comes amid a chaotic transition process, with reports of ad hoc staffing decisions and uncertainty around key appointments in Trump’s second-term administration.