Billionaire Ross sworn in to oversee commerce
WASHINGTON — President Trump has a commerce secretary.
Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Wilbur Ross on Tuesday, a day after the Senate voted 72-27 to confirm him.
Ross had already been advising Trump on economic policy and helping him to craft ways to rewrite the tax code. As commerce secretary, he will also help promote American business interests in the U.S. and abroad, oversee agencies that manage fisheries, weather forecasting and the Census Bureau, which will conduct the next national headcount in 2020.
Ross has said the administration will work quickly to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA).
Ross,79, is worth an estimated $2.9 billion and has extensive business ties around the world. He has promised not to take any action as secretary that would benefit any company in which he has a financial interest.
With Ross entering the Cabinet, the most important members of Trump’s economic team are in place just in time for looming fights over the budget, health care and tax legislation.
Compared with some of Trump’s other Cabinet picks, Ross had his confirmation process move ahead with relative ease. He faced less resistance from Democrats than Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Andrew Puzder, whose nomination to lead the Labor Department was derailed.
A former Democrat, Ross, divested a significant portion of his holdings to avoid conflicts of interest before taking the helm of the Commerce Department. He also tried to temper some of Trump’s views on trade, attempting to ease concerns that the U.S. is going to be engaging in trade wars.
“I am pro-trade, but I am pro-sensible trade,” Ross declared at his confirmation hearing.
But he takes the job with lingering questions about how his business experience will mesh with Trump’s “America First” trade agenda.
As a private equity investor, Ross amassed a fortune by taking advantage of trade deals with countries such as China and Mexico. He sent jobs to Mexico when he was the head of a car parts company, benefiting from some of the NAFTA provisions that he will most likely be looking to unwind. And he is maintaining a minority stake in a company backed by the Chinese government.