Since Howard Lutnik was tapped to serve as President Trump’s Commerce Secretary, executives of some of the world’s largest companies were trying to win him.
Nvidia, Facebook, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Agency and Alphabet leaders have visited its newly purchased $ 25 million property in Washington-a billionaire Mr Lutnik, recently big enough for my ego “-a 16,250 square-foot mansion to adopt business-fenda.
Mr. Trump raised tariffs at a level that had not been seen in a century, Ford, General Motors and other companies who created their business in the vicinity of international trade reached Mr Lutnik’s hope that he could persuade the President for a less aggressive approach. Some CEOs have called the Commerce Secretary at midnight.
Mr. Lutnik, 63, is the head of a department that both promote and control the industry and have been in charge of monitoring the business. As a result, he has found himself in an incredible effect, because the media’s mediation tariffs and arts have been crushed by them.
A former bond businessman who collected billions on Wall Street, has become generally integrated for the benefit of Mr Lutnik administration who has become the highest salesman for duty. He has publicly echoed the President’s message that large tariffs are needed to restore the American industry, and if the companies do not like them, they should build a factory in the United States.
However, in the administration’s internal conversation, he is often a voice for restraint. He argued in favor of Mr. Trump’s 90 days to break his global tariff for 90 days after sending itch through the stock and bond market. And he made the case to the President to provide relief to some favorable industries, assisted in relieving billions of dollars of tariffs.
The country’s largest car companies in Canada and Mexico, which would hit the US auto factory competition in Canada and Mexico, after arguing to Mr Lutnik, Mr. Lutnik tried to the President for a large concession in March.
In April, Mr. Lutnik China helped to stress the exceptions that saved Electronics companies from China’s tariff, when he and other officials received calls from executives such as Dale Technologies’ Team Cook of Apple and Michael Dell.
Mr. Trump seems to be sorry for giving such an exception. He has grounded to associates that he does not want to do them in the first place, and in April, the true social writes that “no one is moving away from the hook,” says that in the future electronics will be under other tariffs.
Companies are deeply confused about the direction of the trade policy, but the lobby for a profitable concession is more determined than ever before.
Mr Lutnik did not respond to any request for an interview. A spokesman for the trade department refused to comment. The New York Times spoke to more than three dozen corporate executives and the current and commerce department, the White House, Mr Lutnik’s former Wall Street Farm Cantor Fitzgardard and others.
Mr Lutnik is not always in favor of helping the industry. Often he has appointed a threat of tariffs or other offensive strategies against business to encourage investing in the United States.
For example, Mr. Lutnik Chips has interpreted distribution at the program agencies, a bilateral, billion dollar attempt to rebuild the US semiconductor industry. According to the three families familiar with the conversation, companies have already signed an agreement to pay, though Mr Lutnik has imposed pressure on some executives to increase their US investment if they want to receive their funds.
He has also given the idea that they can invest more in the United States by investing more in the United States and discussing the tariffs provided by companies in Escrow, they return it when they invest in the US. Since Mr Trump has begun to threaten the tariff, companies including Apple, TSMC and NVDia have announced investment.
As a former investment banker, Mr Lutnik seems to be particularly interested in fancy ways to make government money. He has supported the plan to sell citizenship with a “gold card” of Mr. Trump’s rich foreigners and talked about the government about cutting from patents and innovations.
Mr. Lutnik has named the “American Resource Department” the “American Resource Department” and renamed the revenue of the tariff for money for money for a new sovereign asset fund. He has spoken emotionally about the establishment of a new “Investment Accelerator” that aims to cut red tapes for investors.
Supporters of Mr Lutnik say that he has come up with new thoughts that are badly needed in Washington. However, executives and foreign officials have described some of his proposals as Zenny or harmful and are deeply concerned from the conversation, say half a dozen people familiar with the exchange.
And despite the supervision of a broad government agency, Mr Lutnik is working to further expand its reach.
Mr. Trump’s “External Revenue Service” – which will collect import tax – he is about to control the customs service to create a reality. Mr Lutnik also expressed interest in gaining authority over US postal services. In the words of Mr. Lutnik, Mr. Trump advised Mr. Lutnik to assemble it in the Commerce Department and use a mail carrier to decide how to fix the post office money.
As a consultant for the President, Mr. Lutnik fans have helped Mr. Trump’s emotions and instincts. After Mr. Trump expressed concern over the United States’s impact on the Panama Canal, a friend of Mr Lutnik set up two iPhones to record the ship traffic through the Canal, he told the audience at a conference in Washington in March. Mr. Lutnik shared the videos with Mr. Trump and they regretted how much Chinese was written in boats and shipping containers. “The Panamanians were sold,” he said.
Mr. Lutic Commerce Department of Traditional Traditional is the most enthusiastic of the fall in the scandal, some 50,000 employees that monitor business, weather observation, fisheries, artificial intelligence and commercial space activities.
In the department, the employees say that the administration has imposed on the work and the morale has been submerged as several hundred jobs have been cut off. One of the goals described in the Trump administration – to make the United States more competitive the United States, their career dedicated technicians and scientists say they remain seamless.
Some trade employees said that Mr Lutnik did not send any welcome email like the past secretaries or did not give the welcome address, and they did not know his email or did not see him personally for a month after his confirmation. Mr Lutnik told others that he had planned to spend most of his time in the White House.
Many employees believe that Mr. Lutnik focuses on one’s viewer: the person he referred to as “DJT”. Mr. Lutnik often spoke of the President’s intuition, wisdom and presssense, proud of Mr. Trump regularly to have dinner on Friday night, and any day he spoke to the President as “auspicious day” any day.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that he had a “unique chemistry” with Mr Lutnik’s President and “the instinct of finding power hidden lever to implement the policy.” He described “Mr. Lutnik” as “Garulus, funny and adamantly enthusiastic.”
“I think you will still laugh if you cut your head,” Mr. Kennedy said.
US trade representative Jamison describes Mr Lutnik as “relentless” and said that they were “very close partners” in the development and editing of trade policies. “The country is very lucky to keep him in public service,” he said.
At a dinner at the Australian Embassy in February where he gave the keynote, Mr Lutnik said he first brushed Mr. Trump to New York Charity Dinner decades ago, and then “chased the same girls”. The line was seen with a silent silence, a man present said.
Mr Lutnik told the foreign dignitaries and investors group that the US economy was largest in the early 20th century, while foreign products had high tariffs. He said that Mr. Trump had planned to build a “customs wall” around the United States of America and urged foreign countries to stay on the right.
Some foreign governments who discussed with Mr Lutnik described him as bold and aggressive. Canadian officials say that he issued multiple devastating threats on a phone call in February, warning that Mr. Trump could expel Canada from the intelligence sharing group the Five Ice and review the defense system that protects both countries from foreign missiles.
On the contrary, Mexican officials described Mr Lutnik as strict but attractive and said that he was acceptable to their arguments that automotive supply chains driven between countries could be beneficial to the US factory.
“He was constructive with us,” Luis Rosendo Gutiriz Romano, Deputy Secretary of the Commerce Mexican.
Mr. Lutnik seems to be enjoying his role in Mr. Trump’s orbit. He threw himself a great confirmation party in his Washington house in February. Mr. Lutnik and his wife Allison Senator, Wall Street businessman and executives like Mater Mark Zuckerberg.
He also accepted the media spotlight. Some of his near-TV presence has expressed alarm among Trump officials and allies, as well as complaining from the Democrats that Mr. Trump’s billionaire cabinet is out of contact.
By the end of March, Mr Lutnik said in an interview that only a “fraud” would complain of losing a social security check and do not call and complain of his 4 -year -old mother -in -law. “
In April, Mr. Lutnik said in a TV interview that “a few million and several million people’s army screws on the iPhone little, slightly screws – this national thing is about to come to America.”
While in Washington, Mr Lutnik served as the chief executive of the New York Brokez Farm Farm Farm Fitzgald for more than 30 years and earned considerable luck in a ruthlessly competitive industry. He also led a broker dealer BGC Group and was the top executive of the commercial property agency Newmarket.
Mr. Lutnik’s life was involved in the tragedy that made him more defensive to his friends and the family and encouraged him to build a wealth of wealth around them. He suddenly lost both his parents as a young man. And Cantar Fitzldard lost several hundred employees, including Mr Lutnik’s brother and best friend, during the attack on the World Trade Center on September 7, where its offices were.
Some former employees said that Mr Lutnik behaved like their family, took them to the flag and circus and bought them popcorn and cotton candy. Others reminded that Mr Lutnik would leave the office with his family to leave the office, then return to the meeting at ten o’clock, where he expected the employees to attend.
The investment bank, working with the cantor, describes the vice chairman of Piper Sandler Jimmy Dank Mr Lutnik as “extremely intense and very strong.”
Mr Dan said, “You are going to fight with him or against him, you will be better protected because he’s going to test you,” Mr Din said. “She’s not ashamed of the fight.”
Mr Lutnik describes himself as a financial conservative and social liberal and has a history of supporting both Republicans and Democrats. However, his view on Israel and the conservative economy helped him lean on Mr Trump.
Employees who have long been known to Mr Lutnik were surprised to question the outcome of the presidential election in 2021. In 2024, Mr. Lutnik was a chief donor of Mr. Trump and then the Vice-President of his transformation team. Mr. Lutnik requested to be the Treasury Secretary, but the manager of the Hedge Fund lost to Scott Besent. The hostility between the two did not diminish, though both of them work together to persuade Mr. Trump to break some of his tariffs.
Lauren Hirch, Maggie Hobberman, Jonathan Swan, Murin, Trip And Matina Stevis-Gridnef Reporting contributions. Kitty Bennett Contributed research.
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