President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has nominated Howard Lutnick to serve as secretary of commerce in the incoming administration.
Lutnick, who is currently the CEO of the financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald and the co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition committee, was competing for the post with his fellow transition co-chair Lind McMahon, who was head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, and with the former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Lutnick, a strong proponent of rebalancing American trade through the use of tariffs, will provide important support for Trump’s broadly protectionist economic platform. The nomination provides important insight into the chaotic debate within the Trump camp and the Republican Party broadly over economic policy. Pre-Trump Republicans generally supported free trade, and many politicians elected on free trade platforms remain in government. Within the Trump camp, there are also divisions over whether tariffs should be leveraged to obtain more favorable trade terms or used for the protection of American domestic industry. Trump himself has gestured favorably towards both approaches.
Lutnick, who takes the latter position, was also a potential candidate for secretary of the Treasury and the favorite pick of Elon Musk, who endorsed him in a post on X Monday. The future Treasury Secretary remains a prize for whatever camp ends up with the spot. One possible pick is Scott Bessent, a major Trump donor and economic advisor who argues for using the threat of tariffs as a negotiating tactic, but who is seen by more protectionist players as a “business-as-usual choice.”
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