Howard Lutnickbillionaire finance executive President Trump The head of the Commerce Department has agreed to divest his holdings in a range of business interests, including resigning from his long-standing role as head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.
Lutnick also agreed to resign from his position at BGC Group, Inc., a global brokerage and financial technology company that holds a large number of government contracts, and agreed to resign as chairman of Newmark Group, Inc., a commercial real estate company. That's according to an ethics filing obtained by CBS News.
The document and a 92-page financial disclosure report Lutnick filed late Wednesday offer a glimpse into what a long list of super-wealthy executives seeking positions in the incoming Trump administration face in terms of divestments. Huge challenge.
Lutnick pledged to avoid possible conflicts of interest as senior Commerce Department officials work to promote the interests of American businesses. As someone who will retain a large stake even after resigning from the company, this task will be complicated.
If confirmed, Lutnick would serve as commerce secretary, overseeing a sprawling Cabinet agency charged with funding new computer chip factories, enforcing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring weather. In this role, connections with the CEO and the wider business community are also crucial.
Lutnick, an advocate of sweeping tariffs, told CNBC in September that "Tariffs are an amazing tool that the president uses — we need to protect American workers." Mr. Trump proposed them during the campaign 60% tariff Goods come from China — and impose tariffs of up to 20% on all other goods imported into the United States. Recently, Trump said he could impose 10% tariffs on goods from China as soon as February and threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Cantor Fitzgerald has been actively involved in the cryptocurrency space in recent years, supporting one company in particular, Tether. Cantor stands to benefit from the Trump administration’s clear support for weakening cryptocurrency regulations.
The company is still best known for enduring devastating losses in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when about two-thirds of its employees in New York were killed, including Lutnick's brother.
Lutnick donated millions of dollars to help Trump and other Republicans get re-elected. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump last August that raised $15 million and donated $5 million to the Make America Great Again political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.