The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century.

The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary reports directly to the president and is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States. The secretary is appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The secretary of commerce is responsible for promoting American businesses and industries. The department states its mission as 'to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States'.

Until 1913, there was one secretary of commerce and labor, uniting this department with the United States Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate United States secretary of labor.

The secretary of commerce is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule with an annual salary of US$ 250,600, as of January 2025.

The current secretary of commerce is Howard Lutnick.

List of U.S. secretaries of commerce

Parties

Independent (1) Democratic (21) Republican (19)

Status

No.PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officePresident(s)
1William C. RedfieldNew YorkMarch 5, 1913October 31, 1919Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
2Joshua W. AlexanderMissouriDecember 16, 1919March 4, 1921
3Herbert HooverCaliforniaMarch 5, 1921August 21, 1928Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
4William F. WhitingMassachusettsAugust 22, 1928March 4, 1929
5Robert P. LamontIllinoisMarch 5, 1929August 7, 1932Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
6Roy D. ChapinMichiganAugust 8, 1932March 3, 1933
7Daniel C. RoperSouth CarolinaMarch 4, 1933December 23, 1938Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
8Harry HopkinsNew YorkDecember 24, 1938September 18, 1940
9Jesse H. JonesTexasSeptember 19, 1940March 1, 1945
10Henry A. WallaceIowaMarch 2, 1945September 20, 1946
Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
–Alfred Schindler ActingMissouriSeptember 20, 1946October 7, 1946
11W. Averell HarrimanNew YorkOctober 7, 1946April 22, 1948
12Charles W. SawyerOhioMay 6, 1948January 20, 1953
13Sinclair WeeksMassachusettsJanuary 21, 1953November 10, 1958Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
-Lewis StraussNew YorkNovember 13, 1958June 30, 1959
14Frederick H. MuellerMichiganJune 30, 1959August 10, 1959
August 10, 1959January 19, 1961
15Luther H. HodgesNorth CarolinaJanuary 21, 1961January 15, 1965John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
16John T. ConnorNew JerseyJanuary 18, 1965January 31, 1967
17Alexander TrowbridgeNew YorkJanuary 31, 1967June 14, 1967
June 14, 1967March 1, 1968
18C. R. SmithNew YorkMarch 6, 1968January 19, 1969
19Maurice StansNew YorkJanuary 21, 1969February 15, 1972Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
20Peter G. PetersonIllinoisFebruary 29, 1972February 1, 1973
21Frederick B. DentSouth CarolinaFebruary 2, 1973March 26, 1975
Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
22Rogers MortonMarylandMay 1, 1975February 2, 1976
23Elliot RichardsonMassachusettsFebruary 2, 1976January 20, 1977
24Juanita M. KrepsNorth CarolinaJanuary 23, 1977October 31, 1979Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
–Luther H. Hodges Jr. ActingNorth CarolinaOctober 31, 1979January 9, 1980
25Philip KlutznickIllinoisJanuary 9, 1980January 20, 1981
26Malcolm Baldrige Jr.ConnecticutJanuary 20, 1981July 25, 1987Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
–Bud Brown ActingOhioJuly 25, 1987October 19, 1987
27William Verity Jr.OhioOctober 19, 1987January 30, 1989
28Robert MosbacherTexasJanuary 31, 1989January 15, 1992George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
–Rockwell A. Schnabel ActingCaliforniaJanuary 15, 1992February 27, 1992
29Barbara FranklinPennsylvaniaFebruary 27, 1992January 20, 1993
30Ron BrownNew YorkJanuary 20, 1993April 3, 1996Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
–Mary L. Good ActingTexasApril 3, 1996April 12, 1996
31Mickey KantorTennesseeApril 12, 1996January 21, 1997
32William M. DaleyIllinoisJanuary 30, 1997July 19, 2000
–Robert L. Mallett ActingTexasJuly 19, 2000July 21, 2000
33Norman MinetaCaliforniaJuly 21, 2000January 20, 2001
34Donald EvansTexasJanuary 20, 2001February 7, 2005George W. Bush (2001–2009)
35Carlos GutierrezFloridaFebruary 7, 2005January 20, 2009
–Otto J. Wolff ActingJanuary 20, 2009March 26, 2009Barack Obama (2009–2017)
36Gary LockeWashingtonMarch 26, 2009August 1, 2011
–Rebecca Blank ActingMinnesotaAugust 1, 2011October 21, 2011
37John BrysonNew YorkOctober 21, 2011June 11, 2012
–Rebecca Blank ActingMinnesotaJune 11, 2012June 1, 2013
–Cameron Kerry ActingMassachusettsJune 1, 2013June 26, 2013
38Penny PritzkerIllinoisJune 26, 2013January 20, 2017
–VacantJanuary 20, 2017February 28, 2017Donald Trump (2017–2021)
39Wilbur RossFloridaFebruary 28, 2017January 20, 2021
–Wynn Coggins ActingVirginiaJanuary 20, 2021March 3, 2021Joe Biden (2021–2025)
40Gina RaimondoRhode IslandMarch 3, 2021January 20, 2025
–Jeremy Pelter ActingMarylandJanuary 20, 2025February 21, 2025Donald Trump (2025–present)
41Howard LutnickNew YorkFebruary 21, 2025Incumbent

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of commerce is as follows:

  1. Deputy Secretary of Commerce
  2. General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
  3. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
  4. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
  5. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
  6. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  7. Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
  8. Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration
  9. Boulder Laboratories Site Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology

External links

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byBrooke Rollinsas Secretary of AgricultureOrder of precedence of the United States as Secretary of CommerceSucceeded byLori Chavez-DeRemeras Secretary of Labor
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded bySecretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins10th in lineSucceeded bySecretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer