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Washington • President Donald Trump has a Commerce secretary.
Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Wilbur Ross on Tuesday, a day after the Senate voted 72-27 to confirm him.
Ross will help promote American business interests in the U.S. and abroad. He'll also oversee agencies that manage fisheries, weather forecasting and the Census Bureau, which will conduct the next national headcount in 2020.
Ross has said the administration will work quickly to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
The 79-year-old Ross is worth an estimated $2.9 billion and has extensive business ties around the world. He has promised not to take any action as secretary that would benefit any company in which he has a financial interest.
Earlier Tuesday, President Donald Trump acknowledges hundreds of jobs remain unfilled in his administration, but says "they're unnecessary to have."
In an interview with Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" that aired Tuesday, Trump says he has no intention of filling many of the open positions.
He says, "I say, 'What do all these people do?' You don't need all those jobs."
Trump also says that some are looking to criticize him for eliminating those positions, but he adds, "That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. We're running a very good, efficient government."