Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and US commerce secretary nominee for US President Donald Trump, right, and President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Getty)
Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is one of the wealthiest people to serve in a presidential administration. Lutnick vowed to divest his financial interests upon confirmation to remain impartial.
TRUMP'S BILLIONAIRE COMMERCE SECRETARY PICK VOWS TO SELL ALL HIS BUSINESS INTERESTS IF CONFIRMED
"My plan is to only serve the American people. So I will divest — meaning I will sell all of my interests, all of my business interests, all of my assets, everything," Lutnick said. "I've worked together with the Office of Government Ethics, and we've reached agreement on how to do that, and I will be divesting within 90 days upon my confirmation."
During his confirmation hearing on January 29, Lutnick said he would sell his businesses and elect someone else to lead them once confirmed. Lutnick aligned closely with Trump's trade and tariff policies during the hearing. He said it's "nonsense" that tariffs create inflation and advocated for reciprocity.
Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and Co-Chair of the Trump 2024 Transition Team speaks at a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
"I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce. He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump said in the announcement.
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Trump praised Lutnick’s leadership during the presidential transition and said he "created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen."
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/howard-lutnick-confirmed-trumps-commerce-secretary