Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick remains in his position, despite a series of blunders

The Commerce Department is sometimes referred to as the broom closet of the federal bureaucracy because of the vast—and unrelated—functions that it oversees. That portfolio includes both promoting economic growth through creating jobs and monitoring trade, and overseeing the Census Bureau and the National Weather Service. But according to several U.S. and foreign officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick assumed the role with a significant deficit in his grasp of trade, how to negotiate with foreign partners, and how to execute the president’s agenda. “He doesn’t understand tone, diplomacy, or even what he told the same country a few weeks prior,” one administration official, who has sat in several meetings with Lutnick, told us. “Many countries have come and said they don’t know how to engage Secretary Lutnick, since he seems unsure of his position week to week.”