Trump economic aide Cohn departs

President Donald Trump demanded economic adviser Gary Cohn’s cooperation on tariffs in a meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday — asking Cohn directly if he would support his decision to move forward with the plan.

Cohn would not offer his support, according to two people familiar with the episode — and just hours later, the White House announced Cohn’s resignation.

In a way, Cohn’s resignation as director of National Economic Council was exactly as Trump had predicted this week, telling associates he expected Cohn to quit if Trump went ahead with the tariffs. Trump is expected to announce the moves — a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum — as early as this week.

Cohn is a free-trade advocate who vociferously opposed Trump’s plan, so his views were well-known. But the moment in the Oval Office brought the two men — president and adviser — into direct conflict.

Trump, during the trade policy meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday, asked for an update on the legal paperwork that will make the tariffs official and discussed the timing of the signing of the tariffs order. He then sought confirmation that everyone — and especially Cohn — was willing to stand behind him.

According to one source with knowledge of the exchange, Trump specifically asked Cohn: We’re all on the same team, right? He then asked if Cohn was going to support the president on the issue.

Cohn didn’t answer, the people said.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images file photo White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, seen here waiting to speak about tax reform during a briefing at the White House in September, resigned Tuesday in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to levy global steel tariffs.