TRUMP LIKELY TO PICK COHN
The Goldman Sachs president is expected to lead the National Economic Council.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name a top Goldman Sachs executive, Gary Cohn, to lead the National Economic Council, handing the Wall Street veteran significant sway over his administration’s economic policy.
The council includes the heads of various departments and agencies and works within the administration to coordinate economic policy. As director, Cohn would be in position to advise Trump as he attempts to fulfill some of his chief campaign promises, including lowering corporate taxes and rethinking trade policy.
Trump intends to formally name Cohn to the post, which does not require Senate confirmation, but additional details remained unclear, according to a transition official who spoke on the condition of anonymity and was not authorized to speak publicly. The expected appointment was first reported by NBC News.
In Cohn, Trump once again would be picking a veteran of a New York investment bank that he repeatedly denounced during the campaign. During the campaign, Trump argued that Goldman held “total control” over both Democrat Hillary Clinton and GOP rival Ted Cruz. Trump even released a television ad that flashed an image of Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and warned of a “global power structure” that was robbing American workers.
But Trump has relied on several Goldman alums for key positions so far. Steven Mnuchin, a 17-year veteran of the bank, is nominated to be the next Treasury secretary, and Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, worked on mergers and acquisition deals for Goldman Sachs. Hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci began his career at the New York bank and has emerged as one of Trump’s closest advisors on the presidential transition.
Cohn would be, by far, the highest-ranking Goldman Sachs executive slated to serve in the Trump administration. Cohn, president and chief operating officer of the bank, was viewed widely as heir apparent at Goldman Sachs, poised to become CEO when Blankfein retired. He has been at the bank since 1990.
As NEC director, Cohn would become Trump’s chief economic policy advisor.
“The NEC director is supposed to ensure there is a serious process for the president to make decisions after hearing the competing views of all relevant economic cabinet members in a fair and coordinated way,” said Gene Sperling, who had the role under Clinton and Obama.
Over more than 20 years, Cohn has run several Goldman Sachs businesses, including bond and commodities trading.
In news interviews, Cohn has struck a moderate tone on controversial issues such as corporate tax inversion and deregulation. At a conference last year, he argued for keeping U.S. businesses onshore by creating a “really competitive environment.” He also appeared to take a softer stance on Trump’s campaign promises to roll back the sweeping financial reforms known as the DoddFrank Act that were instituted under Obama and reinstate a Depression-era law that separated commercial and investment banking.