Donald Trump plans to nominate Wall Street billionaire Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce, the president-elect announced in a Truth Social post Tuesday.
The CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald will lead the incoming administration’s tariffs and trade agenda, which Trump has made a key policy priority for next year. Lutnick, a long-time Trump loyalist, has served as co-chair of the president-elect’s transition team.
Trump noted in his announcement that Lutnick will have “additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”
The commerce secretary will be responsible for delivering Trump’s promises of a 60% tariff on goods from China and up to 20% tariffs on all other imports.
Trump’s criticism of federal subsidies could impact some of President Biden’s key manufacturing policies, such as the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
Lutnick expressed support for Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs during the campaign.
“Which is it? Do we make a lot of money on tariffs or do we bring productivity here and drive up our workers here? It's a win-win scenario. I like both of them. I think what's going to happen is we’ll make a bunch of money on the tariffs but mostly everybody else is going to negotiate with us and we will be fair,” Lutnick said during a CNBC interview in September.
On clean energy, Lutnick backs opening up U.S. lithium reserves as a way to onshore low-cost battery manufacturing. The high price of battery and electric vehicle manufacturing has been a hurdle for companies as they attempt to scale domestic production.
Lutnick has also expressed his desire to cut down on government spending.
“How much do you think we can rip out of this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?" Lutnick asked Tesla Founder and CEO Elon Musk on stage at a rally in Madison Square Garden last month. When Musk replied with an estimate of "at least $2 trillion," Lutnick replied enthusiastically, "Yeah!"
Musk has been tasked with running the new unofficial government entity the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut government spending.
Industry stakeholders congratulated Lutnick on the nomination.
In an X post on Tuesday, Jay Timmons, the National Association of Manufacturers president and CEO said, “Manufacturers congratulate @howardlutnick on his nomination to lead the Department of Commerce. The work of the department is vital to advancing a strong manufacturing economy, and we look forward to continuing our close and collaborative relationship.”
The National Retail Foundation said in an email to Manufacturing Dive, “The retail industry stands ready to work with President-elect Trump, his administration and Congress to enact tax, trade and regulatory policies that make America more competitive, increase domestic investment and create jobs.”
U.S.-based semiconductor giant Micron Technology also expressed congratulations.
“Congratulations to @howardlutnick on being nominated by @realDonaldTrump to serve as his Secretary of Commerce,” Micron Policy said in a post on X Tuesday. “The Department of Commerce is a critical partner in expanding the domestic semiconductor ecosystem. We look forward to the opportunity to work with him to advance Micron's leading-edge memory manufacturing expansion plans and solidify U.S. tech leadership for years to come.”
Lutnick’s nomination follows Trump’s first term trend of tapping Wall Street executives to lead major agencies. In 2016, Trump chose former CEO of private equity firm WL Ross & Co. Wilbur Ross as his secretary of commerce.
