Donald Trump has selected Wall Street billionaire and Bitcoin bull Howard Lutnick to serve as his Commerce Secretary, reports the Wall Street Journal. By doing so, Trump has rejected the investor’s reported push to run the Treasury Department, a position with far greater sway over the U.S. economy.
Running the Department of Commerce is certainly no small prize for Lutnick, who is currently co-chairing Trump’s transition team. As Commerce chief—if confirmed by the U.S. Senate—Lutnick would handle a variety of tasks, including overseeing international trade and tariffs, conducting the census, and running the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
And yet, the influence and prestige of the Commerce Secretary position pales in comparison to that of the U.S. Treasury Secretary—a job Lutnick strongly desired and lobbied for aggressively in recent days, according to a report in The New York Times.
Lutnick reportedly wanted to run the U.S. economy so badly that his eagerness irritated Trump, and caused the president-elect to seek out other candidates for the Treasury post. As Commerce Secretary, Lutnick will now have substantially less sway over crypto policy than he would have had he been tapped to run the Treasury.
Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated with additional details.
