Duckworth Votes Against Confirming Howard Lutnick to Serve as Commerce Secretary

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST)—released the following statement after voting against Howard Lutnick’s nomination to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Senate confirmed Lutnick by a vote of 51-45.

“I cannot vote for any nominee who won’t publicly pledge without hesitation that they’d refuse an unlawful order from President Trump—and Mr. Lutnick failed that simple test. As Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue their illegal spree to freeze federal funding and make deep cuts at critical agencies so they can pave the way for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, we need a Secretary of Commerce who is not afraid to stand up to this chaos, uphold the law and put our economy and middle-class Americans first. And yet, by confirming Mr. Lutnick today, Republicans are once again proving how easily they will appease Trump out of fear for their own political survival—and it will be American farmers, businesses and the middle class who will pay the price.”

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