President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Howard Lutnick, the businessman helming his presidential transition team, as his candidate for commerce secretary. Lutnick, the chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has been a vocal backer of Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on a large swath of U.S. imports. Speaking at a Trump rally in New York City last month, Lutnick harked back to the early 20th century as a time when, in his view, America was great: “Our economy was rocking. … We had no income tax, and all we had was tariffs.”
In a post announcing Lutnick’s appointment on Truth Social, Trump said the Wall Street executive will “lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.” The U.S. trade representative and commerce secretary have traditionally been two separate roles—respectively held by Robert Lighthizer and Wilbur Ross during Trump’s first term—and it’s unclear whether Trump means to now combine them under Lutnick. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for clarification from Foreign Policy.
This post is part of FP’s ongoing coverage of the Trump transition. Follow along here.