United States Secretary of Commerce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of Commerce
Flag of the secretary
Seal of the U.S. Department of Commerce
Incumbent Howard Lutnick since February 21, 2025
United States Department of Commerce
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with United States Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	15 U.S.C. § 1501
Precursor	Secretary of Commerce and Labor
Formation	March 5, 1913; 112 years ago (1913-03-05)
First holder	William C. Redfield
Succession	Tenth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I

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

The United States Secretary of Commerce is a very important person in the U.S. government. This person leads the United States Department of Commerce. Think of them as the main helper for the President of the United States on all things about business and trade.

The Secretary of Commerce is part of the President's top team, called the Cabinet. They are chosen by the President. Then, the United States Senate must agree with the President's choice. The main job of the Secretary is to help American businesses and industries grow. The Department of Commerce works to make trade better both inside the U.S. and with other countries.

Before 1913, there was one person who handled both commerce and labor. This was the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. But in 1913, these jobs were split. Now, there is a separate Secretary of Labor.

The Secretary of Commerce earns a good salary, like other top government officials. The current Secretary of Commerce is Howard Lutnick. He started this job on February 21, 2025.

Who Are the U.S. Secretaries of Commerce?

This section shows the people who have served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Parties

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

Status

     Denotes acting commerce secretary

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		Redfield, William C.William C. Redfield	New York	March 5, 1913	October 31, 1919		Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
2		Alexander, Joshua W.Joshua W. Alexander	Missouri	December 16, 1919	March 4, 1921
3		Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover	California	March 5, 1921	August 21, 1928		Harding, Warren G.Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
							Coolidge, CalvinCalvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
4		Whiting, William F.William F. Whiting	Massachusetts	August 22, 1928	March 4, 1929
5		Lamont, Robert P.Robert P. Lamont	Illinois	March 5, 1929	August 7, 1932		Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover (1929–1933)
6		Chapin, Roy D.Roy D. Chapin	Michigan	August 8, 1932	March 3, 1933
7		Roper, Daniel C.Daniel C. Roper	South Carolina	March 4, 1933	December 23, 1938		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
8		Hopkins, HarryHarry Hopkins	New York	December 24, 1938	September 18, 1940
9		Jones, Jesse H.Jesse H. Jones	Texas	September 19, 1940	March 1, 1945
10		Wallace, Henry A.Henry A. Wallace	Iowa	March 2, 1945	September 20, 1946
							Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
–		Schindler, AlfredAlfred Schindler Acting	Missouri	September 20, 1946	October 7, 1946
11		Harriman, W. AverellW. Averell Harriman	New York	October 7, 1946	April 22, 1948
12		Sawyer, Charles W.Charles W. Sawyer	Ohio	May 6, 1948	January 20, 1953
13		Weeks, SinclairSinclair Weeks	Massachusetts	January 21, 1953	November 10, 1958		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
-		Strauss, LewisLewis Strauss	New York	November 13, 1958	June 30, 1959
14		Mueller, Frederick H.Frederick H. Mueller	Michigan	June 30, 1959	August 10, 1959
				August 10, 1959	January 19, 1961
15		Hodges, Luther H.Luther H. Hodges	North Carolina	January 21, 1961	January 15, 1965		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
							Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
16		Connor, John T.John T. Connor	New Jersey	January 18, 1965	January 31, 1967
17		Trowbridge, AlexanderAlexander Trowbridge	New York	January 31, 1967	June 14, 1967
				June 14, 1967	March 1, 1968
18		Smith, C. R.C. R. Smith	New York	March 6, 1968	January 19, 1969
19		Stans, MauriceMaurice Stans	New York	January 21, 1969	February 15, 1972		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974)
20		Peterson, Peter G.Peter G. Peterson	Illinois	February 29, 1972	February 1, 1973
21		Dent, Frederick B.Frederick B. Dent	South Carolina	February 2, 1973	March 26, 1975
							Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977)
22		Morton, RogersRogers Morton	Maryland	May 1, 1975	February 2, 1976
23		Richardson, ElliotElliot Richardson	Massachusetts	February 2, 1976	January 20, 1977
24		Kreps, Juanita M.Juanita M. Kreps	North Carolina	January 23, 1977	October 31, 1979		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981)
–		Hodges Jr., Luther H.Luther H. Hodges Jr. Acting	North Carolina	October 31, 1979	January 9, 1980
25		Klutznick, PhilipPhilip Klutznick	Illinois	January 9, 1980	January 20, 1981
26		Baldrige Jr., MalcolmMalcolm Baldrige Jr.	Connecticut	January 20, 1981	July 25, 1987		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989)
–		Brown, BudBud Brown Acting	Ohio	July 25, 1987	October 19, 1987
27		Verity Jr., WilliamWilliam Verity Jr.	Ohio	October 19, 1987	January 30, 1989
28		Mosbacher, RobertRobert Mosbacher	Texas	January 31, 1989	January 15, 1992		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
–		Schnabel, Rockwell A.Rockwell A. Schnabel Acting	California	January 15, 1992	February 27, 1992
29		Franklin, BarbaraBarbara Franklin	Pennsylvania	February 27, 1992	January 20, 1993
30		Brown, RonRon Brown	New York	January 20, 1993	April 3, 1996		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001)
–		Good, Mary L.Mary L. Good Acting	Texas	April 3, 1996	April 12, 1996
31		Kantor, MickeyMickey Kantor	Tennessee	April 12, 1996	January 21, 1997
32		Daley, William M.William M. Daley	Illinois	January 30, 1997	July 19, 2000
–		Mallett, Robert L.Robert L. Mallett Acting	Texas	July 19, 2000	July 21, 2000
33		Mineta, NormanNorman Mineta	California	July 21, 2000	January 20, 2001
34		Evans, DonaldDonald Evans	Texas	January 20, 2001	February 7, 2005		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
35		Gutierrez, CarlosCarlos Gutierrez	Florida	February 7, 2005	January 20, 2009
–		Wolff, Otto J.Otto J. Wolff Acting		January 20, 2009	March 26, 2009		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
36		Locke, GaryGary Locke	Washington	March 26, 2009	August 1, 2011
–		Blank, RebeccaRebecca Blank Acting	Minnesota	August 1, 2011	October 21, 2011
37		Bryson, JohnJohn Bryson	New York	October 21, 2011	June 11, 2012
–		Blank, RebeccaRebecca Blank Acting	Minnesota	June 11, 2012	June 1, 2013
–		Kerry, CameronCameron Kerry Acting	Massachusetts	June 1, 2013	June 26, 2013
38		Pritzker, PennyPenny Pritzker	Illinois	June 26, 2013	January 20, 2017
–	Vacant			January 20, 2017	February 28, 2017		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
39		Ross, WilburWilbur Ross	Florida	February 28, 2017	January 20, 2021
–		Coggins, WynnWynn Coggins Acting	Virginia	January 20, 2021	March 3, 2021		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
40		Raimondo, GinaGina Raimondo	Rhode Island	March 3, 2021	January 20, 2025
–		Pelter, JeremyJeremy Pelter Acting	Maryland	January 20, 2025	February 21, 2025		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)
41		Lutnick, HowardHoward Lutnick	New York	February 21, 2025	Incumbent

Who Takes Over if the Secretary is Away?

If the Secretary of Commerce cannot do their job, other people are ready to step in. This is called the line of succession. It ensures the Department of Commerce always has a leader.

Here is the order of who takes over:

• Deputy Secretary of Commerce
• General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
• Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
• Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
• Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
• Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
• Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration
• Boulder Laboratories Site Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology

See also

In Spanish: Secretario de Comercio de los Estados Unidos para niños