Trump’s top economic adviser stepping down
Cohn to leave after failing to dissuade Trump from tariff plan.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser resigned Tuesday, leaving the White House after losing a major battle with other aides over the implementation of protectionist tariffs on steel and aluminum.
White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs, leaves a Trump administration that has pivoted sharply from last year’s business friendly tax cuts toward a much more protectionist approach.
In the past week, Trump has said he will impose tariffs that hit imports from Canada, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea and a range of other countries, threatening to escalate the penalties if any nation dare to retaliate.
This came after Cohn spent months trying to steer Trump away from tariffs and trade wars, with Cohn eventually being outmaneuvered by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, trade adviser Peter Navarro and ultimately Trump himself.
Trump could cast a wide net in searching for a replacement, though he has told advisers that he wants to consider Larry Kudlow, a media personality and 2016 campaign adviser, according to
several people briefed on Trump’s discussions.
In many ways, Cohn’s NEC was one of the most stable parts of the White House, avoiding the scandals and revolving-door image that the National Security Council and other offices endured. But Cohn and the president had an on-again, off-again relationship, with relations becoming chilly after Cohn criticized Trump’s response to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Cohn’s departure is likely to rattle business executives around the country, many of whom saw the Wall Street veteran as an unapologetic critic of Trump’s nationalist and protectionist views. It was Cohn and Treasury Sec- retary Steven Mnuchin who helped persuade Trump to postpone ripping up trade agreements or imposing tariffs late last year to avoid enraging congressional
Republicans during the tax debate.
“I was quite impressed with the job he did,” said Steve Moore, who was an economic adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign. “I don’t always admit I was wrong, but I was wrong about Gary. He was very valuable to Trump. He was a steady- ing hand.”
Cohn was not expected to stay long into 2018, but he did outlast the first wave of departures in January and February. The stock market soared in 2017 in part because of global growth but also because of investor enthusiasm over Trump’s deregulatory agenda and tax cut focus, items that Cohn helped design. But people close to Cohn said the pivot toward protec- tionism this year was infuri- ating, and he wouldn’t force himself to go out in public and defend it. Cohn did not attend Trump’s news con- ference on Tuesday, some- thing he typically does. He made a last-ditch effort on Monday to schedule a meet- ing for Trump with companies that would be harmed by new steel and aluminum tariffs, and the White House refused to schedule the meet- ing for the president. Cohn’s departure was first reported by The New York Times. “I like conflict,” Trump said. “I like having two peo- ple with different points of view, and I certainly have that. And then I make a decision. But I like watching it. I like seeing it. And I think it’s the best way to go.” Trump went on to argue that his White House is a talent magnet, even though chief of staff John Kelly has struggled to recruit experienced candidates for toplevel jobs in the administration.
“I read where, oh, gee, maybe people don’t want to work for Trump,” the president said. “Believe me, everybody wants to work in the White House. They all want a piece of that Oval Office. They want a piece of the West Wing. And not only in terms of, it looks great on their resume. It’s just a great place to work. It’s got tremendous energy. It’s tough.”
Trump on Tuesday morning previewed future firings. “I still have some people that I want to change [always seeking perfection],” he wrote in a tweet.
But asked at the news conference who he had in mind — and whether he was looking to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with whom he has feuded bitterly for months — Trump would not say.
“I don’t really want to talk about that,” the president said. He added, “There will be people that change. They always change. Sometimes they want to go out and do something else. But they all want to be in the White House. So many people want to come in. I have a choice of anybody.”