President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that he's tapping Howard Lutnick, a Haverford College alum and the largest donor in the Delaware County school's history, to be the next commerce secretary.
Lutnick, 63, the CEO of Wall Street financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, has served as the co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team since August.
The commerce secretary, a position that needs to be confirmed by the Senate, supports U.S. businesses and acts as an emissary between other nations to negotiate trade deals and increase foreign investment. The Census Bureau, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office are among the 13 bureaus housed under the Commerce Department. The role usually works closely with other members of the president's Cabinet to carry out and advise on economic policy.
Lutnick has been advocating for higher tariffs, including during Trump’s campaign rally at Madison Square Garden last month, when he reportedly said the United States was most prosperous during the early 1900s, when there was "no income tax and all we had was tariffs."
Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald after graduating from Haverford College in 1983 and he took charge of the firm in the early '90s. He gained widespread media attention after leading the company through the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which claimed several hundred Cantor Fitzgerald employees — including his brother. He started a relief fund for families who lost loved ones in the attack and also sits on the board of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Lutnick has donated $65 million to the Haverford College over his lifetime, resulting in the Lutnick Library, Gary Lutnick Tennis & Track Center and the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, the Inquirer said. He also served on Haverford's board of managers for more than 20 years.
His ties with Trump stretch back decades, including when he appeared on Trump’s reality TV show, "The Apprentice."
Lutnick has donated to both Democrats and Republicans in the past, the Washington Post reported.
