Senate confirms Howard Lutnick to key Cabinet role on Trump’s trade policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday, putting in place a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump's hardline trade polices. At the Commerce Department, Lutnick, who was CEO at the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will oversee 50,000 employees who do everything from collecting economic statistics to running the census to issuing weather reports. But he's likely to spend a lot of time — along with Jamieson Greer, Trump's nominee to be the top U.S. trade negotiator — managing the president's aggressive plans to impose import taxes on U.S. trading partners, including allies and…