Trump picks Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary with extra trade role after Treasury bid

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will nominate Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of his transition team, to be commerce secretary — saying Lutnick also would receive a major role in foreign trade policy.

Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, had been widely rumored as a contender for the more prestigious post of treasury secretary but appeared to have lost momentum in recent days to hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. 

“I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce,” Trump, 78, said in a statement.

The Commerce Department’s building is only slightly farther from the White House than the Treasury’s — and Trump said that Lutnick will take on an outsized role in foreign trade, which typically is handled by the US Trade Representative’s office.

“[Lutnick] will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said.

“In his role as Co-Chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team, Howard has created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen.”

The 63-year-old’s pending nomination was first reported by Punchbowl News and was confirmed by The Post hours before the official announcement.

As commerce secretary, Lutnick will oversee a sprawling department with wide-ranging responsibilities.

The Census Bureau, the National Weather Service, the Patent and Trademark Office, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Minority Business Development Agency are some of its divisions.

The bitter rivalry for the coveted Treasury job — which grants the office-holder’s signature a spot on US paper currency — saw different factions of Trump allies pushing for their chosen candidate.

SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk came out in favor of Lutnick over the weekend, saying he “will actually enact change,” while Bessent would be a “business-as-usual choice.”

Lutnick, when he was out on the campaign trail with the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president, often touted his resilience in business, and spoke about the tragedy of losing more than 650 employees — including his younger brother, Gary — in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that devastated the firm’s Twin Towers workforce.

Although it’s unclear how much say Lutnick or fellow transition co-chair Linda McMahon have had in individual picks for Trump’s Cabinet, there have been signs that the Wall Streeter is not fully in control of the process. 

Lutnick previously told CNN that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would not serve in Trump’s Cabinet, only to have Trump choose the former Democrat as Health and Human Services secretary last week.