Business and Industry

When Businesspeople Run Government, the Government Doesn't Become a Business

Central planning from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump, and others reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes private markets work.

Veronique de Rugy | 5.14.2026 1:10 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and President Donald Trump (BONNIE CASH/UPI/Newscom)

Something strange is happening in Washington. A generation of investors and entrepreneurs who built careers championing private capital and intuitively understood the power of market discipline and limited government have joined the Trump administration, taking charge of hundreds of billions of dollars of other people's money. They assure us that they are deploying it strategically, with accountability and a businessperson's rigor.

From Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (who is apparently convinced he can rearrange the American economy through tariffs and industrial policy as if it were a trading desk) to former Commerce official Michael Grimes (who led the IPOs of Meta, Uber, and Airbnb and reportedly spearheaded a federal "venture arm" last year) to President Donald Trump and his proposed U.S. sovereign wealth fund, the rejection of markets is real. And as with all such schemes, these too will damage the economy.

Their presumption is that a government can expertly run the economy if only staffed with expert businesspeople. In a recent episode of his podcast, tech investor and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale talked with former private equity investor Ben........

© Reason.com