Howard Lutnick, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Commerce Department, is the latest cabinet contender to have his confirmation hearing held up by paperwork delays.
“It will be soon,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, in a brief interview. “We’re waiting for the paperwork to be completed.”
Cruz, whose panel has oversight over the Commerce Department and will be handling Lutnick’s confirmation process, has yet to schedule his hearing.
Lutnick, a billionaire and longtime friend of Trump, has been tapped to implement the incoming administration’s tariff and trade agenda — a source of anxiety among some Republicans who worry about whether that agenda will be one that results in higher costs on consumer goods and trade wars.
Well known on Wall Street, Lutnick rebuilt the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of the company’s employees, including his brother. He has also co-chaired Trump’s 2024 transition team.
Lutnick is expected to be confirmed easily by Republicans, but he’s among those whose paperwork delays are causing a backlog in the GOP’s ability to put Trump’s cabinet in place quickly.
A delayed FBI background check on Monday pushed back a hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday for Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, also had a hearing slated for Tuesday pushed back over paperwork.
A spokesperson for Lutnick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
