WASHINGTON—Howard Lutnick’s journey from Wall Street veteran to one of President Trump’s most hawkish trade advisers began with a speech at an October campaign rally at Madison Square Garden. Lutnick extolled the virtues of tariffs and argued that the duties could at least in part replace the U.

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, offered a detailed defense of tariffs in his confirmation hearing, the clearest signal yet from a cabinet pick that the new administration is prepared to impose the levies on allies and adversaries alike.

The billionaire Wall Street CEO fielded questions about tariffs, China's AI progress, broadband access, allegiance to Trump and the revival of American mining and semiconductor production.

Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department, will face questioning from the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Wednesday morning during a

Howard William Lutnick assured senators that the American economy will be much, much better. "A particular product’s price may go up, but all of them, this is not inflationary," he asserted.

Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick got a step closer to potentially serving as the next Commerce secretary after largely sailing through his confirmation hearing Wednesday before a U.S. Senate panel.