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Howard Lutnick, a key partner of stablecoin issuer Tether, has been confirmed by the US Senate to serve as commerce secretary to President Trump.
Lutnick won the support of the Senate in a 51-45 vote, in which all present Republicans voted to confirm Lutnick, and all present Democrats voted not to confirm him.
Four senators — two Republicans and two Democrats — were not present, but given the comfortable Republican majority in the chamber, the two remaining votes were not required.
The Republicans currently have a majority of 53 seats in the Senate; the Democrats hold 45 seats and independents two seats.
Following his confirmation, Lutnick will step down with immediate effect from his role as chair and CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald. In his place, his 26-year-old son Brandon will take up the post.
Conflict of interest concerns
As covered by Vixio, Democratic senators had previously described Lutnick’s work at Cantor, and the firm’s partnership with Tether, as a “very big challenge” to his confirmation.
In earlier hearings, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) questioned Lutnick about his potential conflicts of interest, due to Cantor’s role as the custodian of Tether’s $130bn US Treasury portfolio.
The Washington senator also raised concerns about illicit use of Tether and Cantor’s apparent lack of due diligence on the firm, its technology and its customers.
“The stablecoin that he's been involved in has been considered a very good tool for the cryptocurrency system, but also a target of very illicit funds,” she said in the final hearing prior to the vote.
“This could be billions of dollars of illicit activities by people like North Korea, Mexican fentanyl pushers and cyber-criminals in Southeast Asia, and all because of that stablecoin.”
Quoting an estimate from TRM Labs, Cantwell said that Tether may have been used in $19.3bn of illicit transactions in 2023, making it the largest stablecoin for illicit usage.
She also quoted a 2025 report from Chainalysis, which shows that stablecoins, including Tether, made up 63 percent of all illicit crypto transactions during the previous year.
When asked in an earlier hearing about illicit use of Tether, Lutnick said the company has “onboarded” US law enforcement agencies and is responding to their requests “instantly”.
He added that, in future, US government agencies will be able to "eliminate" illicit use of Tether by using AI tools to “rip through” the blockchain.
In response to questions about Tether’s lack of audited financial statements, Lutnick attempted to soften some of his previous public statements on the topic.
In early 2024, for example, he had dismissed the need for Tether to be audited, telling reporters in Davos that Cantor has “seen the money and they have it”.
In his Senate confirmation hearings, Lutnick struck a different tone. "Cantor Fitzgerald is not conducting continuous diligence on Tether’s financial statements,” he told US lawmakers, “but I believe my statements were accurate when made.”
Senator Warren raises alarm over criminal use of Tether
Amid the confirmation battle, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also wrote to Lutnick to express “serious concern” over his potential Cabinet post.
Warren said Lutnick's involvement with and support for Tether — "a known facilitator of criminal activity" — raises concerns about his judgement and his ability to put the interests of the American people ahead of his own financial interests.
“If you are confirmed as Commerce Secretary, you will have extraordinary access to President Trump and other high-level officials responsible for regulating Tether," she said, "putting you in a position to influence policies that may directly or indirectly impact Tether and the entire cryptocurrency industry.”
Warren also criticised Lutnick for handing over control of Cantor, a company that he reportedly refers to as his “personal fiefdom”, to son Brandon.
“This change in control does not erase concerns over whether you are able to meaningfully separate yourself or your interests from Cantor Fitzgerald and its investments,” she said.
Moreover, Cantor will continue to hold a convertible bond issued by Tether, which entitles it, upon conversion, to a 5 percent stake in Tether’s equity (valued at around $600m).
Tether’s role in US stablecoin legislation
While Warren warns that Lutnick may seek to influence legislative proposals on Tether’s behalf, Tether's executives say they are already working with lawmakers to achieve this.
Last week, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, told Fox Business that he has been working closely with two Republican members of Congress behind a key stablecoin bill that was introduced to the House of Representatives earlier this month.
He also vowed to work with other lawmakers behind two other stablecoin bills that are vying for support, both in the House and the Senate.
"We are not going to just throw in the towel and let Tether die just for the sake of not adapting to US legislation," he said.
“We are going to work within the regulatory framework, and we are going to try to advise on every single one of these field proposals to make sure that our voice is heard.”
Similarly, Tether’s chief financial officer, Giancarlo Devasini, has said that Lutnick has promised to use his political clout to “defuse threats facing Tether”.
One such threat is regulation that Tether cannot comply with, such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which requires stablecoin issuers to hold a certain level of reserves in bank deposits.
Another threat is a potential US criminal investigation, most likely over anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions failures, as reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in October last year.
In addition, several US senators, including the “Bitcoin-friendly” Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), have called for Tether to be criminally charged in relation to its illicit finance ties.
In 2023, Lummis said that Tether’s stablecoin “is being used to facilitate terrorism and other illicit activities. It’s time they’re brought to justice.”
In a mark of the shifting alliances and priorities in US politics, Lummis now calls Lutnick “a friend” and congratulated him on his Cabinet appointment.
“I know he will do a fantastic job reinvigorating our economy,” Lummis posted on X.
