In response to Donald Trump tapping Howard Lutnick for Commerce Secretary, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Just like Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick doesn’t care about working families or what’s best for the middle class – he only cares about his own bottom line and tax handouts for his rich friends. Lutnick praised Trump’s ‘inflation bomb’ of an agenda and has promised to follow Trump’s disastrous plans to double down on tax giveaways for the ultra-wealthy and mega corporations. The American people can’t afford Trump and Lutnick’s broken agenda that puts the wealthy and well-connected ahead of the rest of us.”

Howard Lutnick is a strong advocate of Donald Trump’s disastrous Project 2025 economic agenda, including high tariffs and tax giveaways for the wealthy. He also supports Trump’s corporate tax cuts because it benefited his bottom line. 

CNN: “‘We had so much money that we had the greatest businessmen of America get together to try to figure out how to spend it,’ said Lutnick, 63, who has been advocating for higher tariffs. As a candidate, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on goods from China, as well as 10% tariffs on goods from other countries.”

Wall Street Journal: “Lutnick has fiercely defended Trump’s economic proposals in the midst of opposition from some on Wall Street, who worry the president-elect’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs will trigger trade wars and ultimately lead to higher prices for American consumers.”

The New Republic: “Lutnick, the CEO of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald … has been the co-chair of Trump’s transition team since August, and has expressed support for Trump’s ill-defined plan to impose broad tariffs on foreign producers, a scheme experts say would shock the U.S. economy and cause increases in consumer prices across the board.

“In September, Lutnick told CNBC that ‘tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use—we need to protect the American worker.’ Lutnick also gushed about tariffs at Trump’s fascistic rally in Madison Square Garden last month, claiming that America was better off 100 years ago, when it had ‘no income tax and all we had was tariffs.’ His high praise for tariffs came even as he admitted Americans would face higher prices as a direct result.”

New York Post: “‘Heritage, because of Project 2025, is radioactive,’ Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick told The Post … one former member of the Trump presidential personnel office (PPO) [claimed] ‘it would be impossible to do a transition without including Project 2025 people.’

“Lutnick’s team has ‘already reached out’ to people affiliated with Project 2025, the source went on, arguing there is no possibility of staffing a second Trump administration ‘unless he’s going outside of the conservative movement.’

“The former PPO staffer added that the Project 2025 database includes Republicans from a wide-ranging list of different groups, including Turning Point USA and ‘state legislative staff.’”