The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Howard Lutnick as secretary of commerce on Feb. 18, 2025. The Senate voted 51-45 in favor of his nomination along party lines. This was the 17th member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on Nov. 19, 2024, that he had selected Lutnick as his nominee for secretary of commerce. Trump said of Lutnick’s nomination, “I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce. He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.” The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a confirmation hearing for Lutnick on Jan. 29, 2025, and voted 16-12 to advance his nomination.

Lutnick received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Haverford College in 1983 and began working at Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm, that year. From 1991 to 1996, Lutnick was president and chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald, and he was chairman and chief executive officer from 1996 to 2025. He was also chairman and chief executive officer of BGC Group and chairman of Newmark Group during that time.

Looking just at the main 15 Cabinet secretaries who are in the line of presidential succession, and excluding other Cabinet-level positions, Lutnick was the thirteenth of the main Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, nine of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

At this point in the Biden administration, six of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, 12 of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.