Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big picture power shifts remaking our world.

What's going on, guys? It is Wednesday, November 20th, and today we are talking about an extremely

consequential presidential appointment. Before we get into that, however, if you are enjoying

the breakdown, please go subscribe to it, give it a rating, give it a review, or if you want to

dive deeper into the conversation, come join us on the Breakers Discord. You can find a link in the

show notes or go to bit.ly slash breakdown pod. All right, friends, something we have been watching very closely is, of course,

the race to become Treasury Secretary. And for at least one big crypto advocate, they're going to have

to be content with something a little bit different. President-elect Donald Trump has

appointed Howard Lutnik as Secretary of Commerce.

That, of course, takes the transition team co-chair out of the running to become Treasury Secretary.

Lutnik is also the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, who is Tethers Wall Street banker and says he

owns a small fortune in Bitcoin. The cabinet position will keep Lutnik within the inner circle

during the Trump administration,

but also keeps him away from the levers of power at the Treasury.

Announcing the appointment on truth social, Trump said,

Letnik will, quote, lead our tariff and trade agenda with additional direct responsibility

for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

On tariffs, Lutnik has been a supporter of Trump's agenda, but has called for a more nuanced

application. He views tariffs as a tool for negotiating trade agreements rather than as a way of

extracting tribute to the U.S. Empire. Still, he has in the past promoted tariffs as a way to do without

income tax and could push for major tax reductions. More broadly, the Commerce Department has

...