WASHINGTON – US President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday he will nominate Howard Lutnick, a key transition adviser and billionaire financial services executive, to lead the Commerce Department.
“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 announcing the selection.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO led Trump’s transition and became his public face.
It is not yet clear what his election to the Cabinet post will mean for his role in the future transition.
As co-chairman of Trump’s transition, Lutnick has been an outspoken advocate of his agenda, including explaining how the president is.lect plans to use one time rates. Lutnik is CEO and chairman of financial services titan Cantor Fitzgerald. The Commerce Department will play a key role in implementing some of Trump’s proposed tariffs on US imports.
Lutnik thanked Trump in a brief statement Tuesday evening.
“Thank you, President Trump, for trusting me to help make America great again. As the next Secretary of Commerce, I will join the best administration America has ever seen and unleash our full economic potential,” Lutnick wrote. In an article on X.
Lutnik has been with Cantor Fitzgerald since the early 1980s after graduating from Haverford College in Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. He experienced great personal tragedy at a young age, losing his mother while still in high school and then his father during his first week of college. Lutnick was working at Cantor Fitzgerald when terrorists targeted the World Trade Center towers in New York, the firm’s headquarters, on September 11, 2001. Hundreds of Cantor Fitzgerald employees were killed, including Lutnik’s brother.
After the attacks, Lutnick became an outspoken advocate for the business community as New York worked to rebuild itself.
The commerce secretary’s announcement comes after days of speculation about who might fill the remaining top cabinet positions in the incoming Trump administration, including for treasury secretary, with Lutnick seen as a front-runner. Lutnick’s selection was first reported by Punchbowl News.
A transit official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department is still unclear, Lutnick gained public support over the weekend. Elon Muskthe billionaire was recently appointed head of the new “Department of Government Efficiency”.
Musk has been a near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since the election, showing his affinity for Trump.