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(Bloomberg) — Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday to be President Donald Trump’s Commerce secretary.

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Lutnick, approved on a vote of 51-45, will oversee a large department with responsibilities ranging from fisheries management to export controls. Trump has tasked Lutnick with leading the administration’s tariff and trade agenda and has said he will have direct responsibility for the Office of the US Trade Representative.

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Lutnick told senators during his confirmation hearing that tariffs will be used to bolster US national security and restore American manufacturing and supply chains. He said they would be an effective negotiating tactic to force other countries to “respect” the US.

Lutnick has dismissed concerns that tariffs would worsen inflation across the board though he conceded the prices of some products might increase. Lutnick has said China should face the stiffest trade duties but that US allies would not be spared.

“I think Chinese tariffs should be the highest, our adversaries should be the highest,” Lutnick said during his hearing last month. “But the fact that we Americans cannot sell an American car in Europe is just wrong and it needs to be fixed. So, while they’re our ally, they are taking advantage of us, they are disrespecting us and I would like to see that end.”

Lutnick Says Trump Tariffs Will Restore US Economy, Respect (1)

Trump has set a blistering pace for the use of tariffs during his first weeks in office, announcing and then delaying 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, imposing 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, announcing forthcoming 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel and signing a measure last week that would impose new levies on a country-by-country basis to re-balance trade relations. On Tuesday, the president said he would likely impose tariffs on automobile, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports of around 25%, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2.

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And he did all this before Lutnick or Jamieson Greer, the nominee for US Trade Representative, were even confirmed by the Senate, though Lutnick joined Trump as the president signed executive orders in the Oval Office.

Lutnick rose to prominence as the CEO of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald and has one of the more complex financial situations among Trump’s cabinet nominees, having disclosed roles in at least 800 entities, assets worth at least $806 million — including 12 he valued at more than $50 million — and income of at least $356 million over 2023 and 2024.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his net worth at least $2.2 billion.

Lutnick told senators during his confirmation hearing that he would step down from his role as CEO and sell all his business interests if confirmed. He also acknowledged for the first time a bond his firm has with Tether, a controversial crypto client.

“Upon confirmation, my business will be for sale,” he said, adding he would complete the transactions within 90 days.

The billionaire can defer capital gains taxes for assets he’s required to sell to avoid conflicts of interest, meaning if he draws money from the sales of his firms, he could plow it into a fund and only pay taxes when and if he sells those portfolios.

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Lutnick Pledges to Sell Firm, Discloses Its Bond With Tether

The unusual step of giving the Commerce chief responsibility for the US Trade Representative, who typically represents an independent agency in the president’s cabinet, raised some alarm bells in Congress.

The concerns surfaced in a nomination hearing for Greer, Trump’s pick to lead the trade office, when Senator Mike Crapo, the Idaho Republican who chairs the Finance Committee, underscored that by law, the trade representative reports directly to the president. Ron Wyden, the panel’s top Democrat, said his top priority was figuring out “who the hell” would be in charge of trade.

—With assistance from Josh Wingrove and Todd Gillespie.

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