President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday he has selected Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive, transition team leader and cryptocurrency fan, to serve as commerce secretary.
Lutnick is head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chairs Trump's transition team along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, per The Associated Press.
Lutnick would oversee a 51,000-person Cabinet agency with an $11 billion budget to promote U.S. industry. It influences decisions ranging from the manufacturing sector to trade restrictions and technology regulation.
The agency would play a key role in carrying out tariffs, which Trump has suggested expanding significantly. Companies and economists have said the plan could increase consumer prices and drive inflation.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said Lutnick “will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”
Lutnick had been considered for Treasury secretary, a position Trump has not announced yet.
He has donated $1 million to Trump's super PAC in recent years, The New York Times reported — one of many commerce secretaries that have donated to presidential campaigns.
Lutnick could face questions over potential conflicts. He still runs financial firms that serve corporate clients and cryptocurrency platforms, among others, and as commerce secretary he would help select leaders of agencies that regulate those firms, the Times reported.
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