Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as secretary of Commerce

The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as secretary of Commerce. The chairman and CEO of the Cantor Fitzgerald firm received 51 votes in favor and 45 against. The new official is very close to President Donald Trump, whom he knows from his business career in New York. He was even a major fundraiser for the 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

In addition to being a key figure in tariff implementation and trade, Lutnick will have broad authority in U.S. shipping, infrastructure, telecommunications, environmental monitoring and intellectual property.

"Howard Lutnick’s confirmation as Commerce Secretary highlights President Trump’s commitment to unleashing economic growth, strengthening American businesses, and putting America first in global trade. MAKE AMERICA PROSPEROUS AGAIN!", the White House celebrated.

During his confirmation hearing, he aligned himself with Trump's agenda to remedy "trade imbalances" by imposing reciprocal tariffs. "We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better. We can use tariffs to create reciprocity," he said during the hearing.

At the same time, he said he would sell his companies and choose someone else to run them once 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. 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," he added.

Lutnick became the 13th member of Donald Trump's cabinet to be confirmed, following Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Sean Duffy, Doug Burgum, Robert Kennedy Jr, Scott Turner, Brooke Collins, Pam Bondi, Doug Collins and Chris Wright.