US Senate confirms Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary

The US Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Wall Street billionaire Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, a key step towards the roll-out of President Donald Trump’s “America First” trade policy, which uses tariffs as a broad negotiation tool.

Trump has threatened sweeping levies on US allies and competitors alike, looking to tariffs not only as a way to raise revenue but also pressure other countries to act on US priorities.

Lutnick, chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a close ally of Trump’s and has been a defender of imposing tariffs on US imports.

On Tuesday, he was confirmed by a vote of 51-45.

He takes the helm at a department that advocates for US business interests and oversees an apparatus restricting the export of certain technology – including semiconductors – to adversaries, including China and Russia.