Economic Development Administration (Department of Commerce)

Trump administration officials came to this week's G20 innovation summit to project a united front on U.S. 

Some of the nation’s top law enforcement officials were not pleased when the White House embarked on its push to assert more political control over more than $1 trillion in annual federal grants. The proposal, unveiled in May, stood to enable the administration to steer significant funding to causes and organizations aligned with President Trump—and to cancel grants if recipients did not conform to his political views.

In a freewheeling first year in office, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of President Trump’s most influential deputies, has used the power of the federal government in unorthodox and aggressive ways. Some of his tactics have been creative. Others were blunt-force.

Key deadlines set out in President Trump's executive order targeting state 

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.

Incomplete information can make it difficult for lawmakers to understand the effects of policy and for government entities to enforce grant recipients’ program requirements. Because federal broadband data focuses on information like the number of households with subscriptions, it lacks feedback on network quality and reliability, or on how consumers experience a broadband connection.

The Senate confirmed Paul Dabbar as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce in 56-40 vote. In this role, he will serve as the Department’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), overseeing its day-to-day management, a $11.4 billion annual budget, 12 operating units, and 47,000 employees. He is also a member of the President’s Management Council. Most recently, Mr. Dabbar was President and CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, where he led the development and deployment of technologies for emerging quantum networks. 

In 2022, Congress created the Tech Hubs Program to strengthen U.S. economic and national security by commercializing the technologies of the future. The investments made through this program can ensure that critical industries, companies, and jobs start, grow, and remain in the United States. At my direction, the Commerce Department is revamping the Tech Hubs program to prioritize national security, project quality, benefit to the taxpayer, and a fair process.

In the final days of the 118th Congress, two new broadband bills were passed and eventually signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. Here's a quick look at the E-BRIDGE Act and the EXPLORE Act. The new laws demonstrate how Congress understands how important broadband is to economic development and that broadband is needed everywhere—even the places we go to 'get away from it all.' 

The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, putting in place a billionaire Wall Street veteran turned avowed protectionist to lead the president’s global trade agenda. The former chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm, ran the personnel operation for Trump’s presidential transition. Lutnick, age 63, took the reins at Cantor in 1991. He stepped down following the confirmation vote. President Trump has said the secretary will lead the second-term trade portfolio as well as oversee an agency of roughly 47,000 employees.