Lutnick at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 29. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senators on Wednesday pressed Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick to take positions on the sprawling set of tech policies the department deals with.
Why it matters: The nomination hearing was the first chance to drill down into how Lutnick thinks about policy issues.
- The Commerce Department is at the center of the U.S.-China tech race.
The big picture: There were few policy specifics discussed during the hearing, and Lutnick told senators he has a lot to learn.
Here are the highlights from the Senate Commerce hearing:
Tariffs: Lutnick told senators that he backs a "macro" and "country-by-country" approach to tariffs.
- Lutnick said that export controls have to be backed by tariffs to counter China in the tech race.
- Lutnick said China's advancements with Deepseek showed that "our export controls, not backed by tariffs, are like a whack-a-mole battle, where they get prevented over here and then they try to figure out a way around it over there."
AI: Lutnick said Commerce should "issue standards and practices" to make sure the U.S. leads on AI.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he believes Congress needs to "craft a legislative framework that provides basic accountability for high-risk AI models without onerous regulations," and also referenced a bill with Sen. Amy Klobuchar and others on the committee focused on the tech.
- Lutnick said he wants to find a bipartisan agreement to set those standards and to address Thune's comments about a "light enough touch" approach to the technology.
Semiconductor manufacturing: Lutnick told lawmakers that he views the CHIPS and Science Act as "an excellent downpayment" to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., but that it needs review.
- President Trump has criticized the law and said that tariffs and tax incentives are a better way to incentivize domestic production.
Spectrum issues: Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz raised his spectrum bill with Thune, which would expand commercial access to spectrum and restore the FCC's authority.
- The Senate Armed Services Committee has pushed back on taking spectrum away from the Pentagon over national security concerns, and Lutnick would have to deal with that.
- Cruz asked Lutnick to commit to working with Congress to free up more spectrum for commercial use.
- "We've got to make sure, of course, to protect ourselves," Lutnick said of national security considerations. "But with all due respect, if I'm going to be your secretary of Commerce, I kind of lean towards commerce. So I'd like to try to help us drive some of that spectrum towards our businesses."
Funding: Funding: Lutnick was asked whether he would comply with the appropriations laws Congress passed and did not commit.
- Lutnick suggested that BEAD has not connected households and CHIPS money hasn't been distributed, "so the timing is not really impacted."
- Asked if he would allocate the BEAD money that has already been appropriated, Lutnick said he would review whether the program is efficient first, as many Republicans have suggested it isn't.
Reality check: Lutnick is correct that Congress hasn't appropriated much of the CHIPS and Science Act money that was authorized.
- But there are many grants and awards that have been doled out.
- And for BEAD, all of the appropriated money is now accessible to the states, and the deadlines Congress laid out in the law were always going to take years.
The bottom line: Lutnick won't face a difficult path to his confirmation, and the Commerce Committee will vote to advance his nomination to the floor at an upcoming business meeting.
