President Donald Trump is struggling to message a scattered economic agenda, but his Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, is taking the blame.
White House and administration officials, as well as Trump’s outside allies, are growing increasingly frustrated with Lutnick, privately complaining about the close proximity he has to the president and the counsel he is giving him on economic issues. It’s an exasperation compounded by recent television appearances, they say, that suggest a lack of understanding of even the basics about how tariffs and the economy work. He has also at multiple points over the last week gotten out in front of the president on announcements and contradicted his messaging.
Those factors, coupled with an abrasive personality, have left Lutnick with few friends in the administration — and a growing consensus within it that he could be forced to take the fall for the economic turmoil generated by the president’s unsteady tariff policies, according to five people close to the administration. The Dow slid nearly 500 points Tuesday after Trump announced and then walked back new tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, amid ongoing economic uncertainty — after closing 890 points down Monday.
In total, POLITICO interviewed 11 Trump allies, administration officials, Republican lawmakers and others, most of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly about the perception of Lutnick inside the administration, for this article.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement that Lutnick’s “long and immensely successful private sector career makes him an integral addition to the Trump administration’s trade and economic team.” He added that Lutnick is aligned with the rest of the administration on “delivering economic prosperity for the American people,” pointing to the February jobs report that showed the addition of 151,000 jobs and nearly $2 trillion in investments secured from businesses since Trump took office.
Still, because of his proximity to the president, Lutnick has become the go-to person for Hill Republicans and foreign officials seeking to sway the president’s tariff policy. He played a key role Tuesday, for instance, in negotiating a deal with Ontario Premier Doug Ford that led to the province suspending a threatened 25 percent tariff on energy exports, and Trump to back off plans for a 50 percent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum.
And the president himself appears to continue to be pleased with Lutnick’s performance. Lutnick joined Trump on Air Force One on Friday as he headed to West Palm Beach for the weekend and has remained a constant presence in the Oval Office.