Trump nominates Jewish transition team co-chair as commerce secretary

(JNS) — President-elect Donald Trump named Howard Lutnick, the Jewish billionaire and chair and CEO of the global finance firm Cantor Fitzgerald, as his nominee for U.S. commerce secretary on Tuesday.

Trump stated that Lutnick, the co-chair of his transition team, “will lead our tariff and trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”

“Another outstanding addition to President Donald Trump’s America first team,” wrote Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Trump’s pick for U.S. envoy to the United Nations. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) calledLutnick’s nomination a “great choice.”

An avid Trump supporter who donated millions of dollars to Trump’s previous campaigns, Lutnick is a big proponent of Trump’s proposed tariffs, the AP reported.

Lutnick arrived late to work on Sept. 11, 2001, after taking his son to school that morning. More than 650 employees of his company were killed in the terror attack on the Twin Towers, including Lutnick’s brother Gary Lutnick. 

Cantor Fitzgerald hosts a fundraiser every year to donate to victims and families of those affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Lutnick’s Jewish identity has played a role in his philanthropy and policy actions. One of his main reasons for donating to Trump was the president-elect’s support of Israel. “That was huge to me,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He has donated to pro-Israel causes, including United Hatzalah and Birthright, and accompanied Trump last month to the grave of the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

In the interview with the Inquirer, Lutnick slammed his alma mater, Haverford College in Pennsylvania, for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus. He had an “utter disappointment at the lack of moral clarity of their leadership,” he said.

Days before the announcement, X owner Elon Musk stated that “Howard Lutnick will actually enact change. Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another.”

The nomination surprised some in Trump’s inner circle, as co-chair Linda McMahon was said to be the frontrunner for the role, according to CNN. Both were informed within the last day that Lutnick, who had been vying for Treasury secretary, would be nominated, per CNN.