Donald Trump picks Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as Commerce secretary

The appointment will elevate one of the financial world’s most vocal supporters of the president-elect to a crucial position overseeing the incoming administration’s economic agenda.

Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald speaks at a rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump will nominate veteran Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department, the president-elect said Tuesday, elevating one of the financial world’s most vocal supporters of the president-elect to a crucial position overseeing the incoming administration’s economic agenda.

Lutnick, chief executive of the financial-services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, in recent months has become a close Trump ally and had been a top contender to lead the Treasury Department. As the co-chair of the president-elect’s transition team, Lutnick has spent much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private Florida club, poring over shortlists of candidates for positions in the administration.

Trump considered Lutnick to lead the Treasury Department, but he fell out of favour for the job amid mounting tension with another leading contender, investor Scott Bessent. Lutnick’s allies, including Elon Musk, signalled their support for Lutnick for Treasury.

Lutnick has fiercely defended Trump’s economic proposals in the midst of opposition from some on Wall Street, who worry the president-elect’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs will trigger trade wars and ultimately lead to higher prices for American consumers.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would oversee an agency focused on expanding U.S. economic growth and boosting domestic industries. He would also likely help maintain and expand ties with the business community, including corporate executives. The Commerce Department, alongside other agencies, will play a central role in implementing the president-elect’s proposed tariffs on U.S. imports.

Howard Lutnick with Donald Trump at a remembrance ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terror attack on the World Trade Centre. Picture: AFP.

Trump is expected to make a final decision soon on who will run the Treasury Department, one of his most important personnel picks. The president-elect recently expanded the search to include new candidates after expressing irritation over the aggressive lobbying campaigns launched by allies of Lutnick and Bessent.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican and candidate for Treasury secretary, is accompanying the president-elect and Musk to Texas to watch a Space X launch scheduled for Tuesday evening, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump is expected to meet this week with two other Treasury contenders: former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan.

Rowan is scheduled to meet with Trump on Wednesday, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Trump’s advisers have discussed appointing Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management, as the director of the National Economic Council, according to people familiar with the matter.

Throughout the presidential campaign, Lutnick was a regular face on cable news, where he praised Trump’s economic vision. “Finally someone is going to protect the American worker,” he said on CNBC in September. “And Donald Trump is going to protect the American worker.” Lutnick, 63 years old, has known Trump for decades. They became friendly after running into each other at events in New York.

A registered Republican, Lutnick has a history of donating to both political parties. But he has grown closer to Trump in recent years; the two men occasionally played golf together. He helped fundraise for Trump in 2020, and he often defended Trump in television interviews. About a year ago, Trump called him to ask for his help in getting re-elected.

Late this summer, the Trump campaign announced that Lutnick would be a co-chair of his transition team along with Linda McMahon, the former head of the Small Business Administration; Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance; and his two older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

McMahon had been widely seen as a leading contender for commerce secretary. She is under consideration for other jobs, including education secretary and U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to people familiar with the matter. Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s first-term trade chief, was also vying to lead the Commerce Department, the people said.

As the transition kicked into high gear, Lutnick split his time between New York and Florida, and he spent election night at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and his close aides. Since the election, he has been by Trump’s side nearly every day, part of a tight group of advisers who were making final decisions on cabinet secretary nominations.

When terrorists flew a pair of passenger jets into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who were in the company’s offices there were killed. Lutnick wasn’t at work because he was taking his son to his first day of kindergarten. Lutnick spent the years since the attack rebuilding the business and hiring thousands of employees.

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