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Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce.
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It is a crucial choice as economic concerns fueled Trump’s victory.
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Lutnick was seen as a front-runner for the position of Treasury Secretary.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire financial executive Howard Lutnick as his next 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 a statement first posted to Truth Social and later released by his transition team.
“Howard has created the most advanced process and system to help us create the best government America has ever seen,” Trump said.
Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team alongside WWE chief Linda McMahon, was seen as a front-runner for the job of Treasury secretary.
Lutnick even received support from Elon Musk for the role. Despite strong support, Lutnick’s private jockeying for the role had a negative impact on those around Trump, according to multiple reports.
With Lutnick out of the picture, Trump is likely nearing his final decision on his last major Cabinet appointment.
The Commerce Secretary will play a central role in the Trump administration as economic concerns have played a key role in fueling Trump’s victory.
As chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is a financial powerhouse in New York. He has known Trump for decades and has organized fundraisers for the newly elected president and appeared on TV as a surrogate.
He spoke on stage at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, praising the tariffs of yesteryear and Musk’s upcoming DOGE initiative along with the Tesla billionaire.
Lutnick is known for guiding Cantor Fitzgerald through the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2002.
The company’s offices were located at the top of one of the World Trade Center towers, and roughly two-thirds of its workforce died that day. It lost more employees on 9/11 than any other company.
Lutnick’s brother was killed in the attack, but Lutnick survived because he happened to be taking his son to school that morning.
Read the original article on Business Insider
