WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary.

The appointment would put Lutnick at the head of a sprawling government agency involved in financing new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictionsby publishing economic data and monitoring the weather. It’s also a role in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

Lutnick, co-president of Trump’s transition teamalongside Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously headed Trump’s Small Business Administration, once appeared on Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice.” He is now part of the president-elect’s inner circle.

Here’s what you need to know about the billionaire who, if confirmed by the Senate, will lead the Commerce Department.

He was Elon Musk’s choice to lead the Treasury Department

Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit called on Trump last week to abandon former front-runner for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in favor of Lutnick. Musk said in a post that “Bessent is a status quo choice, while @howardlutnick will implement change.”

The treasurer’s role has been at the center of an unusual and high-profile turmoil within Trump world. At the same time, the position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive candidate could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Trump is watching closely. Trump has yet to decide on one of the most important vacancies in his proposed Cabinet.

The remaining leading candidates for the position are Bessent, former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, Trump’s former ambassador to Japan.

He is a strong supporter of Trump’s tariff plan.

Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China – and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else imported by the United States. On the campaign trail, Trump presented import taxes as both a negotiating tool to achieve better trade terms and as a way to raise revenue to finance tax cuts elsewhere.

A proponent of imposing large-scale tariffs, Lutnick gave his full support to Trump’s tariff plan in an interview with CNBC in September. “Tariffs are an extraordinary tool for the president to use: we must protect American workers,” he said.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, viewing them as a largely ineffective way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

His brother and hundreds of Cantor employees were killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Lutnick’s brother, Gary Lutnick, and 658 of Cantor Fitzgerald’s 960 employees were killed in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The company lost two thirds of its employees that day. Lutnick is a board member of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Partnership for New York City.

After Cantor Fitzgerald settled a wrongful death and personal injury case against American Airlines and the insurance companies in 2013 for $135 million, Lutnick said, “We could never and will never consider this ordinary.” For us, there is no way to describe this compromise with inappropriate words like ordinary, fair or reasonable. All we can say is that the legal formality of this matter is over.

Trump’s announcement Tuesday about the Commerce Department nomination mentioned Lutnick’s loss – saying he was “the epitome of resilience in the face of unspeakable tragedy.”

He is a big supporter of cryptocurrency

Lutnick is in favor of advancing the objectives of cryptocurrency industry – namely the cryptocurrency Tether.

Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the Internet without relying on the global banking system. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin is like gold and should be free-traded all over the world,” Lutnick said at a Bitcoin conference earlier this year. “And as the world’s largest wholesaler, we’re going to do everything in our power to make it happen.” Bitcoin should trade the same as gold everywhere in the world, without exception and without limitation.

Trump has taken a favorable view of cryptocurrencies – after announcing in May that the campaign would begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of an effort to build what he calls a “cryptocurrency army » before election day. He also launched a cryptocurrency platform called World Liberty Financial with members of his family earlier this year.

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