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Who: Howard Lutnick
Nominated for: Commerce Secretary
You might know them from: Lutnick is a billionaire investor and long-time Wall Street CEO.
- His investment bank, Cantor Fitzgerald, was headquartered in the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 attacks; almost 700 employees were killed, including Lutnick's brother.
- In recent years, Lutnick became a major Republican donor after previously donating to politicians of both parties. If confirmed, he'll be a member of the wealthiest White House ever.
- Lutnick led President Trump's transition team, enthusiastically supporting plans to impose more tariffs on imported goods and parts.
What does this role do: The Commerce Department is responsible for enforcing tariffs on foreign imports and granting any exemptions from those import taxes. The Commerce Secretary negotiates trade deals, promoting U.S. businesses and exports. The department also includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with the National Weather Service, the Census Bureau and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which focuses on the use of wireless airwaves and broadband access.
Here's what happened at the hearing
Howard Lutnick, the billionaire Wall Street CEO, fielded questions about tariffs' impact on U.S. manufacturers and farmers, federal funding for broadband access, China's progress on artificial intelligence and reviving American domestic mining, logging and semiconductor production.
Much of Lutnick's comments came down to two themes.
He extolled the virtues of the United States, saying the country has the world's brightest innovators, the greatest land in the world and the best farmers, fishers and ranchers who grow the most superior steers for "much more beautiful" steak.
But, Lutnick repeatedly argued, the world has treated the U.S. with disrespect; that includes China but also allied nations in Europe, Canada, Japan and Korea, taking advantage of "of our good nature" to grow their own economies.
Lutnick called for across-the-board tariffs.
"My way of thinking ... is country by country, macro, let America make it more fair," he said. "We are treated horribly by the global trading environment... And we can use tariffs to create reciprocity, fairness and respect."
Mexico and Canada, however, could avoid broad tariffs if they shut their borders to stop the flow of fentanyl, Lutnick said, adding that President Trump for now has directed a federal study of "the tariff model" expected to complete in the spring.
Several lawmakers asked Lutnick about rising costs for both U.S. companies and consumers — especially if other countries retaliate with tariffs of their own on American exports.
"A particular product's price maybe go up. But all of them... It is just a nonsense that tariffs cause inflation," Lutnick said.
He wants the U.S. to set the standards on AI for the world.
He accused China of "leveraging what they've taken from us, stolen from us" to develop its groundbreaking DeepSeek chatbot, arguing that export controls on technology should be combined with stricter tariffs. Lutnick also said the government's use of artificial intelligence tool would over time "rid the world of criminals using blockchain for illicit activity."
Lutnick wants more rare-earths mining and semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.
Much of the hearing focused on the bipartisan CHIPS Act that pledged $54 billion to revive America's semiconductor manufacturing industry, now dominated by Taiwan, South Korea and China. Trump has panned the program as wasteful, and Lutnick called it "an excellent down payment" that still needed to be reviewed to get it right.
This led to tense exchanges on Lutnick's allegiance to Trump versus the American people.
Several Democrats pushed Lutnick to commit to dispersing federal subsidies appropriated by Congress, for example for broadband access, even if President Trump directs him otherwise. In response, Lutnick repeated that his goal was to "give Congress the benefit of the bargain," by ensuring programs were actually effective and efficient.
"If President Trump directed you to unlawfully withhold federal spending that was authorized by Congress, would you comply with that order?" asked Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
"I guess I'd be spending a lot of time with lawyers, but I do not think that's the way it will work," Lutnick answered.
"If President Trump directed you to do something illegal or unconstitutional, would you refuse to obey?" Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., later returned to the question.
"He won't," Lutnick replied.
And again, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., asked: "If President Trump asks you to cut infrastructure funding as passed by this Congress in a bipartisan way ... will you oppose that?"
"I work for the president," Lutnick said.
Overall, the hearing was amicable.
Lutnick was introduced at the hearing by Vice President JD Vance, who described him as a personal friend, a wildly successful businessman and "just a good dude." Senators praised Lutnick's resilience after the death of both his parents at his young age and his fundraising to support the families of his colleagues who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Lutnick told lawmakers he was committed to divest all his assets before assuming the Cabinet position to avoid financial conflicts of interest. He previously disclosed stakes in at least 800 firms and legal entities. It's unclear whether Lutnick might sell his assets to his adult children.
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