Editor’s note: On November 19th Donald Trump chose Howard Lutnick to be commerce secretary in his new administration. We published this profile of Mr Lutnick on November 16th and have updated it to include his appointment.

WHILE AMERICA and the world attempt to process the remarkable comeback of Donald Trump, Los Angeles is reckoning with a political earthquake of its own. Los Angeles County is home to nearly 10m people, making it more populous than all but ten states. Its five supervisors wield a $50bn budget. What happens in this sprawling conglomeration of suburbs and highways affects a quarter of all Californians. And, as in the rest of the country, Angelenos voted for change.

IN THE FINAL weeks of his campaign, speaking to a “town hall” hosted by Univision, a Spanish-language television network, Donald Trump made a point he doesn’t make very often. Asked about the need for immigrant workers, he replied: “We want workers, and we want them to come in.” The problem, he said, was illegal immigration. “I want them in even more than you do,” he said. “And we’re going to make it so that people can come into our country legally.”