Trump chooses billionaire adviser Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary.

The position is seen as a key role in carrying out Mr Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs.

Mr Trump made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Mr Lutnick is a co-chair of Mr Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Mr Trump’s Small Business Administration.

Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.

It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Mr Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker”.

Mr Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.

Mainstream economists are generally sceptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

Mr Lutnick had been considered for treasury secretary, a role that has been at the centre of high-profile jockeying within the Trump world.

At the same time, the treasury position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Mr Trump watches closely.

The news also comes after billionaire Elon Musk and others called on Mr Trump to dump previous frontrunner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favour of Mr Lutnick.

Mr Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change”.