Trump picks Howard Lutnick as U.S. commerce secretary nominee

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. In the post, Trump said Lutnick "will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative."

Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump's transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump's Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.

The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that "tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker." On the campaign trail, Trump proposed a 60 per cent tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20 per cent on everything else the United States imports.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

Lutnick had been considered for treasury secretary, a role that has been at the centre of high-profile jockeying within the Trump world. At the same time, the treasury position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Trump watches closely.

Musk supports Lutnick pick

The news also comes after billionaire Elon Musk and others in Trump's orbit called on him to dump the previous front-runner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favour of Lutnick. Musk said in a post on X that "Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change."

A native of New York City's Long Island suburbs with a background in trading and real estate, Lutnick has been one of Trump's top Wall Street advocates, hosting fundraisers and touting his policies in the media.

Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and rose through the ranks to be appointed president and CEO in 1991. He led the firm at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which claimed the lives of more than 650 Cantor Fitzgerald employees, including Lutnick's brother, Gary.

Howard Lutnick also chairs financial technology company BGC Group, and the commercial real estate services firm Newmark Group.

Lutnick has donated to both Democrats and Republicans in the past, and once appeared on Trump's NBC reality show, The Apprentice. He has become a part of the president-elect's inner circle, and has shared the stage with Trump at events in the closing days of his campaign, including a rally at Madison Square Garden.

He came under criticism in the campaign's final days for an interview with CNN, in which he repeated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s debunked criticisms of vaccines.

Lutnick's appointment leaves question marks over whether Trump's former U.S. trade representative and tariff architect, Robert Lighthizer, would join his new administration. Lighthizer had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Commerce and Treasury secretary posts. He could not immediately be reached for comment.