The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Howard Lutnick as the secretary of the Department of Commerce despite fears that the Trump administration plans to cut NOAA funding or dismantle the agency altogether.

Businessman Howard Lutnick was confirmed this week as the new US secretary of commerce, putting him in command of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency charged with overseeing US commercial fisheries.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz said Lutnick will focus on issues including expanding commercial access to wireless spectrum and "will ensure American taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and that Congress gets ‘the benefit of the bargain’ on legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act."

The Senate has confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary. The confirmation vote Tuesday puts Lutnick in charge of the Commerce Department, where he will oversee 50,000 employees

Read about the Senate confirmation of Howard Lutnick—formerly chairman and CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald—as secretary of commerce.

On Tuesday, February 18, the United States Senate confirmed financier Howard Lutnick as the Secretary of Commerce, who has drawn staunch support for the current administration’s love of tariffs. The Senate confirmed his position by a vote 51-45, split by party.

Howard Lutnick, the newly confirmed Commerce Secretary under President Donald Trump‘s administration, reiterated the President’s proposal for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Trump has tasked Lutnick with leading the administration's tariff and trade agenda and has said he will have direct responsibility for the Office of the US Trade Representative. Lutnick told senators during his confirmation hearing that tariffs will be used to bolster US national security and restore American manufacturing and supply chains.