'He hears me' Trump's Wall Street fixer plans to fill White House with loyalists

Scrambling to construct an administration in the wake of his shock victory eight years ago, Donald Trump looked far beyond his inner circle and those who ardently embraced his agenda.

- Callum Jones

Not this time.

The president-elect has charged Howard Lutnick, a longtime friend and one of the few high-profile figures in corporate America to vocally endorse his campaign, with recruiting officials who will deliver rather than dilute his agenda.

The CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and the co-chair of Trump's transition team has made no secret of his plan to stack the White House with loyalists - and keep out anyone who threatens to derail his pledges.

Last time around, Trump "picked unfortunately", Lutnick told NewsNation last month, describing the hires he made in his first term as "freshman" mistakes. "He's the CEO. Why would you pick someone who's going to try to go the other direction? That would be silly," he said.

Lutnick, who says he talks to Trump every day, was on the sidelines in 2016 and 2020 when his friend won and lost the presidency. In 2024, he went all in - raising millions of dollars and loudly making the case for his ally's political comeback.

Trump "is going to build the greatest team to ever walk into government", Lutnick declared to a triumphant crowd at Madison Square Garden last month, with nine days left of the campaign. As transition co-chair, he is in charge of that construction project.