1. Wilbur Ross arrives at clubhouse UPSOUND (English) Reporter: "Are you interested in being Commerce Secretary?" UPSOUND (English) Wilbur Ross: "Time will tell."
2 . Trump and Pence meet Ross UPSOUND (English) Reporter: "Is Mr. Ross a candidate for commerce secretary, sir?" UPSOUND (English) Donald Trump, President-elect: "Commerce Secretary. That's what we're looking for."
Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor considered the "king of bankruptcy" for buying beaten-down companies with the potential to deliver profits, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for commerce secretary, a senior transition official said.
The official isn't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity.
Trump met with Ross on Sunday at his New Jersey golf club.
Reputed by Forbes to be worth nearly $3 billion, Ross would represent the interests of U.S. businesses domestically and abroad as the head at Commerce. His department would be among those tasked with carrying out the Trump administration's stated goal of protecting U.S. workers and challenging decades of globalization that largely benefited multinational corporations.
With a Florida home down the road from Trump's Mar-a-Lago retreat, the 78-year-old Ross played a role in crafting and selling the president-elect's tax-cut and infrastructure plans. Ross has suggested that much of America is disgruntled because the economy has left middle-class workers behind and says Trump represents a shift to a "less politically correct direction."
