Trump picks Wall Street boss for key trade role, old jobs might merge
Trump chooses Cantor Fitzgerald CEO **Howard Lutnick** as commerce secretary pick. The nomination hints at possible merger of two major trade-related positions in upcoming administration
In a truth-social announcement Donald Trump picked Howard Lutnick - the head of well-known finance firm Cantor Fitzgerald to be his commerce secretary. Lutnick (who already manages Trumps transition team) got selected for this high-ranking post
At a NYC rally about a month ago Lutnick shared his pro-tariff views looking back to Americas past:
Our economy was rocking. … We had no income tax and all we had was tariffs
The post mentions that Lutnick will run both tariff-trade matters and the US trade representative office which is quite different from past setup - these were two separate jobs during Trumps 2017-21 term (when Robert Lighthizer and Wilbur Ross each had their own role). Its still not clear if this means combining these positions‚ and Trumps team hasnt yet explained the details
The wall-street execʼs nomination shows how the next administration might handle trade policy - suggesting a focus on import fees and trade restrictions. Lutnick brings his market-savvy background to this role (which traditionally shapes US business relationships with other countries)
