President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he intends to nominate Jericho, Long Island native and Billionaire Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary of his incoming administration, according to reports.
"He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump revealed in a statement, noting that Lutnick will be the key player behind instituting the President-elect's proposed tariffs on imported goods into the United States.
Lutnick was a fundraiser for both the 2020 and 2024 Trump presidential campaigns, in addition to being a vocal supporter of his proposal to implement broad tariffs on imported goods into the United States; if successfully installed in his post at Commerce Secretary, Lutnick will be the key person in implementing them.
Lutnick has been with Cantor Fitzgerald - a huge financial services firm that was founded in 1945 - since 1983; he was named president and CEO of the company in 1991, and became chairman in 1996.
Of note, Lutnick lost 658 employees, as well as his brother, in the September 11, 2001 attacks; he himself only survived because he had arrived late to work that morning after having dropped his son off for his first day of kindergarten. He later founded the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which helps to aid families of victims of the attacks and natural disasters.