MORE TRUMP TURNOVER
Top economic adviser Cohn latest to leave White House after breaking with prez on trade
WASHINGTON — Top economic adviser Gary Cohn is leaving the White House after breaking with President Donald Trump on trade policy, the latest in a string of high- level departures from the West Wing.
Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, has been the leading internal opponent to Trump’s planned tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, working to orchestrate an eleventh- hour effort in recent days to get Trump to reverse course. But Trump resisted those efforts, and reiterated Tuesday hewill be imposing tariffs in the coming days.
Cohn’s departure comes amid a period of unparalleled tumult in the Trump administration, and aides worry that more staffers may soon head for the doors.
The announcement came hours after Trump denied there was chaos in the White House. Trump maintained that his White House has “tremendous energy,” but multiple White House officials said Trump has been urging anxious aides to stay.
In a statement, Cohn said it was his honor to serve in the administration and “enact progrowth economic policies to benefit the American people.”
Trump praised Cohn despite the disagreement on trade, issuing a statement saying Cohn has “served his country with great distinction.”
Cohn is a former Goldman Sachs executive who joined the White House after departing the Wall Street firm with a $ 285 million payout. He played a pivotal role in helping Trump enact a sweeping tax overhaul, coordinating with members of Congress.
Cohn nearly departed the administration last summer after he was upset by the president’s comments about the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Cohn, who is Jewish, wrote a letter of resignation but never submitted it.
Dating back to the campaign, Trump has frequently and loudly complained about the quality of his staff, eager to fault his aides for any mishaps rather than acknowledge any personal responsibility. But the attacks on his own staff have sharpened in recent weeks, and he has suggested to confidants that he has few people at his side he can count on, according to two people familiar with his thinking but not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations.
Coinciding with the heated debate over tariffs, Trump’s communications director Hope Hicks, one of his closest and most devoted aides, announced her resignation last week, leaving a glaring vacancy in the informal cadre of Trump loyalists in the White House.
Turnover after just over a year in office is nothing new, but the Trump administration has churned through staff at a dizzying pace since taking office last January, and allies are worried the situation could descend into a free- fall.
Multiple aides who are considering departing said they didn’t have a clue who could fill their roles— adding that their desire to remain team players has kept them on the job longer than they had planned. But they warned they were nearing their breaking point.
In a riff Saturday at the Gridiron Dinner, an annual white- tie affair, Trump engaged in a rare bout of selfdeprecating humor, comparing the Oval Office job to his past career as the host of the reality television show “The Apprentice.”
“In one job I had to manage a cutthroat cast of characters, desperate for TV time, totally unprepared for their roles and their jobs and each week afraid of having their asses fired — and the other job Iwas the host of a smash television hit.”