Fresh off his drumming of a clear victory this week, President-Elect Donald Trump is countering with a Wall Street veteran and key campaign supporter to take a seat in his cabinet as top business advisor.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had chosen Howard Lutnick, chief executive of Charity Secretary: Lutnick. If N.Y.-based Lutnick only has his current involvement in the Trump transition as a reason, it hasn’t stopped him from spearheading the effort.
As president of the United States, Lutnick would represent U.S. businesses as Commerce Secretary, delivering a message of job growth and economic development.
Among the agencies and organizations the Commerce Department oversees it covers the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office.
Lutnick Will Help Enact Trump Tariff Proposals Trump will likely get support from Lutnick on one issue: tariffs.
Lutnick would also head the International Trade Administration as Commerce secretary.
In an interview with podcaster Anthony Pompliano earlier this month, Lutnick said tariffs could replace income tax revenue, perhaps offsetting that revenue source over time.
“Let the tax rate go lower and lower and lower; I think what you could do is create a world where the business of America is so good that it can be that low,” he said.
Trump’s current proposal on tariffs wouldn’t come close to paying for our national debt, economists estimate.
Treasury Secretary Nomination Still Awaiting
Lutnick’s appointment rules him out of contention for a newly created position of Treasury Secretary.
Last week, when Tesla (TSLA) President Elon Musk suggested Lutnick for Treasury, he said Lutnick would ‘inoculate change.’
The committee, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Trump nominating Musk to co–lead it, has proposed to cut government spending by HALF a trillion dollars a year.
