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Senate confirms Lutnick as Commerce Secretary
The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as the Secretary for the Department of Commerce on Tuesday, Feb. 18, by a vote of 51-45. Trade talks and tariff negotiations are expected to be top priorities for the secretary as the agency is expected to undergo several structural changes during the coming months. Current, estimates for employees at Commerce number around 50,000 people across a broad range of agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has been discussed in the media as a candidate for splitting up, relocation to another agency, and privatization.
Of priority for the TBED community within Commerce are the Economic Development Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (which houses the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and federal tech transfer policy), the Minority Business Development Agency, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, International Trade Administration, and the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Lutnick formerly was CEO of a Wall Street investment firm, Cantor Fitzgerald.