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United States Secretary of Commerce
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<p>The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Commerce/3sch0DLr">United States Department of Commerce</a>. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the <a href="/facts/President_of_the_United_States/oMsfmLb1">president of the United States</a> on all matters relating to <a href="/facts/Commerce/SL9xueYJ">commerce</a>. The secretary reports directly to the president and is a statutory member of the <a href="/facts/Cabinet_of_the_United_States/2ouVJrjQ">Cabinet of the United States</a>. The secretary is <a href="/facts/Prerogative/8cqfIF0f">appointed</a> by the president, with the <a href="/facts/Advice_and_Consent_Clause/F7hXo8G7">advice and consent</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Senate/VyzXHE01">United States Senate</a>. The secretary of commerce is responsible for promoting American businesses and industries. The department states its mission as 'to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States'. </p><p>Until 1913, there was one <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Commerce_and_Labor/wTJDq4zS">secretary of commerce and labor</a>, uniting this department with the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Labor/VGqS16qJ">United States Department of Labor</a>, which is now headed by a separate <a href="/facts/United_States_Secretary_of_Labor/twY0XVVP">United States secretary of labor</a>. </p><p>The secretary of commerce is a <a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">Level I position in the Executive Schedule</a> with an annual salary of <a href="/facts/US_Dollar/naEEDUhC">US$</a>221,400, as of January 2021. </p><p>The current secretary of commerce is <a href="/facts/Howard_Lutnick/VRMW9LJA">Howard Lutnick</a>. </p>