Trump leans towards Cantor Fitzgerald CEO for Commerce

November 19, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Lutnick with Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2013.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP is likely to name Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to head the Department of Commerce, according to sources familiar with Trump’s transition team, reports NBC News. Lutnick is currently serving as the co-chair of that team; Elon Musk had supported his nomination for Treasury secretary earlier. The CEO strongly supports Trump’s controversial proposed tariffs, and would be in charge of implementing those import taxes in his new role, as well as of the CHIPS Act semiconductor production boost, which has delivered billions of dollars to New York state’s technology sector.

Lutnick is also known for his experience as a 9/11 survivor: Cantor Fitzgerald was headquartered at the top of the North Tower, and lost 658 employees in the attacks, including his brother, Gary Lutnick. Lutnick was on the ground outside the towers during their collapse and reportedly survived by sheltering under a parked car. A charity the CEO founded following the attacks has since distributed more than $180 million to the families of victims of 9/11 and other disasters, including a $10 million pledge to families affected by Superstorm Sandy in Brooklyn and elsewhere. His wife, Allison Lutnick, was formerly with the Legal Aid Society’s Brooklyn office.

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