The Senate voted Monday night to confirm billionaire Wilbur Ross as Commerce secretary, putting in place another key member of President Donald Trump’s trade and economic team.
The 79-year-old businessman is expected to play a leading role in trade policy as Trump looks to renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico and reduce the $500 billion trade deficit with China.
The nomination — which passed 72-27, with Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) absent — drew relatively little fire from Democrats compared to many of Trump’s other nominees.
However, Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, criticized the White House for refusing to release Ross' written responses to questions about his role as vice chairman of the board of directors for the Bank of Cyprus, which has done business with Russian investors, including at least one with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“[Ross] has verbally reiterated to me that he only had one meeting, approximately an hour, with one of the bank’s Russian investors and that it occurred in 2014," Nelson said on the Senate floor. "The timing is important — 2014 — because that was before the presidential campaign."
"He also assured me that he knows of no loans or interaction between the bank or anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign or organization," Nelson continued. "Mr. Ross has been forthcoming to me and I believe him."
But the White House’s decision not to release Ross’ written answers ahead of the vote cost him support among the chamber’s Democrats, Nelson said. In all, 26 Democrats and one independent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), voted against Ross. Republicans held firm, with all 51 senators present voting to confirm along with 20 Democrats and the upper chamber’s other independent, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).
"The White House is sitting on Mr. Ross’ written response to Sen. Nelson’s letter," Minority Leader Chuck Schumer complained ahead of the vote. "It is another example of this administration abandoning transparency and trying to jam their nominees through without making all the relevant information public and available."
Ross, who made his fortune turning around companies in distressed industries like textiles and steel, advised Trump on trade issues during last year’s campaign. That sets him apart from many of Trump’s other Cabinet nominees who joined his team after he was elected.
Reflecting that close relationship, Ross is expected to have more influence over trade policy than previous Commerce secretaries, who usually play second fiddle on that issue to the U.S. trade representative.
Along with Peter Navarro — a former University of California-Irvine economics professor who now leads the White House’s new National Trade Council — Ross helped craft “the Trump Trade Doctrine,” which requires that any new trade deal increase the economic growth rate, decrease the trade deficit and strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base.
Trump, who prides himself on being a great businessman and negotiator, has gushed over Ross, who is well known on Wall Street for his investing skills. “Everybody calls him Wilbur,” Trump crowed at a White House meeting with industry officials, held to discuss plans for creating jobs and boosting the economy.
Ross’ job will be to execute some of the plans most often talked about by his new boss. He told the Commerce Committee at his confirmation hearing last month that renegotiating NAFTA was the administration’s first trade priority, along with leveling the playing field with China to help bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
During the campaign, Trump threatened to accomplish the latter goal by imposing a 45 percent tariff on imports from China. But that seems to be off the table, as does a similar Trump threat to impose a 35 percent tariff on goods from Mexico.
That's a relief to many Republicans who have played important roles in passing trade deals over the last 25 years.
NAFTA "is not a dirty word," John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Monday during floor debate, adding that he was grateful Ross was only interested in updating the pact with Canada and Mexico rather than throwing it out.
Although Democrats have delayed action on many of Trump's nominees, Ross is taking office almost a full month earlier than former President Barack Obama’s first Commerce secretary, Gary Locke, did. Locke was Obama’s third choice for the job after two previous nominees backed out.
Meanwhile, Trump's nomination of veteran trade attorney Robert Lighthizer to be U.S. trade representative is now stalled because his past work on behalf of foreign governments requires Congress to approve a waiver for him to serve in the new role.
A group of Democrats, led by West Virginia's Joe Manchin, is demanding that a bill providing health care and pension benefits for miners be passed along with the waiver, further complicating the approval process for Lighthizer.
The Finance Committee passed the bill last year on a bipartisan vote of 18-8, but the conservative Heritage Foundation has blasted it as an unprecedented federal bailout of a private pension fund on behalf of the United Mine Workers of America.
The proliferation of high-powered trade positions within the Trump administration has caused some confusion about who will ultimately be calling the shots.
Ross acknowledged that uncertainty during his confirmation hearing and said the White House intends to respect the congressionally mandated responsibility of the U.S. trade representative to take the lead in the trade negotiations.
But Ross added: "I think it's important to bring all the intellectual resources and experience that we can, to helping solve the trade issues. I view that there will be a collaborative process among the U.S. trade rep, myself and Peter Navarro, the White House director of the National Trade Council. We will try our best collectively to do what's best for this country. So that's how we visualize the interaction of those parties working."