Trump names Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - President-elect Donald Trump nominated veteran Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick on Tuesday to become the head of the Commerce Department.

Lutnick will lead "our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump said on Truth Social.

"In his role as Co-Chair of the Trump Transition Team, Howard has created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen," he added.

Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company, emerged as a close Trump ally in recent months and was a leading candidate to head the Treasury Department.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would lead an agency tasked with driving US economic growth and supporting domestic industries.

The agency, in coordination with other agencies, will play a key role in enforcing Trump's proposed tariffs on imports.

Trump's Cabinet is shaping up following his presidential election win on Nov. 5. He has so far announced names to lead more than half of the 15 agencies.

He will be inaugurated Jan. 20.​​​​​​​