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Tag: passes

Trump’s nominee for Commerce secretary passes key vote in the Senate

President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the path for his final confirmation vote.

The Senate’s vote this afternoon to invoke cloture ended the debate on Lutnick’s nomination and paved the way for his confirmation as Commerce secretary. Senators advanced his nomination by a 52-45 vote. Republicans control the Senate by a 53-47 majority.

Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald and a co-chair of Trump’s 2024 presidential transition team, needed a majority vote to bring his final confirmation vote to the Senate floor.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted 16-12 on February 5 to advance Lutnick to the procedural vote. Lutnick testified for over three hours before the Senate Commerce Committee on January 29.

TRUMP LANDS KEY TULSI GABBARD CONFIRMATION FOLLOWING UPHILL SENATE BATTLE

President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick listen and Rupert Murdoch listen in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, as Trump prepares to sign an executive order. (AP)

If confirmed, Lutnick will become one of the wealthiest people to serve in a presidential administration, along with Elon Musk and Trump himself. During Lutnick’s confirmation hearing, he committed to selling all of his interests and assets if confirmed.

TULSI GABBARD SWORN IN AT WHITE HOUSE HOURS AFTER SENATE CONFIRMATION

“My plan is to only serve the American people. So I will divest — meaning I will sell all of my interests, all of my business interests, all of my assets, everything,” Lutnick said. “I’ve worked together with the Office of Government Ethics, and we’ve reached agreement on how to do that, and I will be divesting within 90 days upon my confirmation.”

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick listens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Newsroom)

Lutnick said selling his businesses would prevent a conflict of interest.

“Upon confirmation, my businesses will be for sale and someone else will lead them going forward,” Lutnick added.

Trump announced Lutnick’s nomination two weeks after he was elected president.

“I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce. He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said.

Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and US commerce secretary nominee for US President Donald Trump, right, and President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty)

Trump applauded Lutnick’s leadership during the presidential transition, saying he “created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen.”

With Lutnick teed up to lead Trump’s “Tariff and Trade agenda,” he faced questions during his confirmation hearing about tariff policy. Lutnick said the argument that tariffs create inflation is “nonsense.”

Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and Co-Chair of the Trump 2024 Transition Team speaks at a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

“We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better. We can use tariffs to create reciprocity,” Lutnick said.

Lutnick testified that he shares Trump’s stance on tariffs, adding he prefers an “across-the-board” strategy to “country-by-country” tariffs.

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Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries, adding up to a 35% tariff for Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are set to go into effect on March 12.

Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
House passes bill blocking future presidents from banning oil drilling without Congress’ approval

The Republican-led House passed legislation to block future administrations from enacting bans on oil and gas drilling without congressional approval.

In a vote on Friday, lawmakers passed the “Protecting American Energy Production Act” to prohibit the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”

There were 118 Democrats who voted against the legislation, while Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of its passage.

Since the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has vowed to unleash American-made energy as part of his ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda. (Getty Images)

The bill comes after former President Joe Biden enacted several regulations on oil and gas during his term, including banning future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters just weeks before he left office.

HOUSE PASSES BILL TO PERMANENTLY CLASSIFY FENTANYL AS SCHEDULE 1 DRUG

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, introduced the ‘Protecting American Energy Production Act.’ (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the Republican who introduced the bill, said concerns over potential fracking bans during the Biden administration was what prompted the legislation.

ENERGY SEC. WRIGHT ISSUES DAY-1 ORDERS TARGETING OIL RESERVES, APPLIANCE RULES, ‘NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE’

“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage.

President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said.

Since the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has vowed to unleash American-made energy as part of his “drill, baby, drill” agenda.

Work continues at a shale gas well drilling site in St. Mary’s, Pa., March 12, 2020. (Keith Srakocic, File)

The legislation, if signed by the president into law, would prevent future administrations from banning the drilling method.

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On Monday, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum stripped the energy sector of “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans enacted under the Biden administration, launching internal investigations into agency actions that “burden” energy development.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 7, 2025
House passes bill to permanently classify fentanyl as Schedule 1 drug

The House passed legislation Thursday to permanently classify fentanyl as a Schedule 1 drug, which lawmakers say will allow law enforcement to be better equipped to prosecute drug traffickers and stop the flow of such substances.

In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a temporary scheduling order (TSO) for fentanyl as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but the TSO is set to expire in March.

With the expiration date looming, Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, introduced the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act that, if passed, would permanently amend the CSA to reflect the current scheduling order.

The legislation passed on Thursday with bipartisan support, 312-108, with 107 Democrats voting against its passage.

‘THIS IS ABOUT FENTANYL’: TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL TO COMBATING ‘DRUG WAR,’ TRUMP AND CABINET OFFICIALS SAY

DEA announces largest fentanyl seizure to date in New York City after colorful pills were found hidden in a LEGO box. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

Schedule 1 drugs under the CSA are defined as “a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and mandatory minimum administrative, civil, and criminal penalties.”

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: WE HAVE TO STOP FENTANYL FROM COMING IN

The legislation also expands the mandatory minimum sentencing for manufacturing, importing, or possessing fentanyl-related substances with intent to distribute.

“I voted for the HALT Fentanyl Act to hold dangerous drug traffickers accountable for their crimes and equip our law enforcement officials with the tools that they need to confiscate deadly drugs, protect our families, and save lives,” Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital after the bill’s passage.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to lock down our border, take on the drug cartels, support our border patrol agents 100%, and keep deadly drugs out of our communities,” Feenstra said.

Rep. Bob Latta was one of the Republican lawmakers who introduced the HALT Act in the House. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)

“The HALT Fentanyl Act is not just about strengthening law enforcement—it is about saving lives and protecting communities,” Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents President Marshall Fisher wrote in a letter supporting the bill. “By permanently scheduling fentanyl analogues, we are sending a strong message that the United States will not tolerate the continued destruction caused by this drug.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in promotion of the bill, shared data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found in 2023 alone, there were nearly 75,000 deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

The bill comes amid a government-wide crackdown on fentanyl under President Donald Trump’s administration.

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Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all goods entering the United States from Mexico and Canada, which were set to go into effect early February but were delayed by a month just hours before their enactment. Trump, however, did impose a 10% tariff on goods from China as part of his effort to combat fentanyl trafficking across the nation’s borders.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 6, 2025