TRADE CZAR

Wilbur Ross Wins Senate Confirmation

The billionaire investor is now set to begin renegotiating trade deals.

President Trump’s nominee for U.S. commerce secretary won Senate confirmation on Monday, paving the way for work to begin on renegotiating trade deals with China and Mexico. Billionaire Wilbur Ross was confirmed with a Senate vote of 72-27, with support from 19 Democrats. Ross will now be at the helm of an agency with over 44,000 employees, tasked with some of Trump’s key campaign pledges, including bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and cutting down on trade deficits. He will also be in charge of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. Ross, estimated to be worth $2.9 billion, divested a large amount of his holdings to avoid any conflict of interest before he takes over, the New York Times reported.