Donald Trump's Tuesday Cabinet picks

President-Elect Donald Trump continues filling out his Cabinet, this time nominating Howard Lutnick, currently the "head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald," as his Commerce Secretary. Also on Tuesday, CBS reported that "Trump is expected to pick Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive, to head the Department of Education, two sources familiar with the transition told CBS News Tuesday. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, stepping down in 2019 to help with his 2020 reelection campaign." Finally, President-Elect Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

NBC is quoting President-Elect Trump as saying "He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor, and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades." Dr. Oz is quoted as saying "I look forward to serving my country to Make America Healthy Again under the leadership of HHS Secretary @RobertKennedyJr."

As for Linda McMahon as Education Secretary, most of her Democrat opposition will come from Democrats grilling her for statements made by President-Elect Trump, although some Democrats will insist that she doesn't have the credentials or expertise for the position. Both arguments are weak at best.

Finally and most importantly, Lutnick will be put in charge of Trump's tariffs and trade if confirmed:

Trump, in a statement, signaled that Lutnick would have expansive authority over his trade agenda, announcing that his nominee would have “direct responsibility” over the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The office currently exists as a separate entity from Commerce. USTR is historically a cabinet-level job that reports directly to the president. Trump’s transition team didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarity on Lutnick’s portfolio.
With his reputation, there's no reason to think Lutnick won't get confirmed with strong bipartisan support. If I wanted that strong Senate confirmation approval, I'd send this testimonial from Fox Business's Larry Kudlow:

Larry is himself a top-flight economist. Further, he's seen as one of the most decent men involved in a presidentiaal administration. To get his support is a definite plus, especially with supply-side conservatives. Larry's testimonial of what Lutnick did while rebuilding Cantor Fitzgerald is high praise indeed.

As for Linda McMahon, she has a strong record in building businesses, though that isn't her only accomplishment. She'll be a pitbull against woke ideology in schools. I suspect that she'll be ferocious against antisemitism on college campuses, too.

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