Just a few hours after the Supreme Court canceled Donald Trump’s big tariffs, people got really angry about who might benefit from the decision: the family of Trump’s own Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick.
Before he joined the government, Lutnick led a huge financial company called Cantor Fitzgerald for thirty years.
When he started working in the administration, he gave the business to his sons.
Lutnick publicly supported Trump’s tariffs.
But behind the scenes, his family’s company reportedly put millions of dollars on the line, betting that those tariffs would be canceled in court.
Wired got some documents showing that Cantor Fitzgerald bought the chance to get refund money from companies that were hurt by the tariffs.
They only paid 20% to 30% of what those companies had already paid. Basically, they were betting the tariffs wouldn’t last.
Now that the Supreme Court has canceled the tariffs, those bets might pay off a lot — up to three or five times what they originally invested.
Let’s look at that again.
A top government official in charge of tariffs supports them publicly… while his family’s business quietly makes money if they fail.
People are not holding back.
Commentators from all political sides are saying it’s “crony corrupt America” and “pure criminality and graft.” Even some so-called “America First” conservatives are wondering how this doesn’t look like unfair advantage.
If this were a Democrat, Fox News would be covering it nonstop.
The bigger problem isn’t just how it looks.
It’s about trust. When government officials are in charge of policies that impact markets — and their families are making big bets based on those policies — Americans have every right to ask if public service has turned into private gain.
The Supreme Court’s ruling may have killed the tariffs.
But it might have given one politically connected family a big reward.
And that’s not free-market capitalism.
That’s a conflict of interest dressed up as patriotism.
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