Trump selects Cohn as economic adviser
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Goldman Sachs executive Gary Cohn on Monday to be director of the National Economic Council, saying his emphasis will include boosting wages and correcting the impact of bad trade agreements.
“As my top economic adviser, Gary Cohn is going to put his talents as a highly successful businessman to work for the American people,” Trump said in a statement. “He will help craft economic policies that will grow wages for our workers, stop the exodus of jobs overseas and create many great new opportunities for Americans who have been struggling.”
In his statement, Cohn said he is honored by the appointment and that he shares Trump’s “vision of making sure every American worker has a secure place in a thriving economy.”
The National Economic Council is the domestic equivalent of the National Security Council.
Cohn is the third Goldman Sachs veteran on Trump’s administrative team, joining senior adviser Steve Bannon and Treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement that he and Cohn have been partners for more than 25 years, “so I know better than perhaps anyone that he has the intelligence, commitment, and experience to be successful at any endeavor he undertakes.”
During his presidential campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump said that “bad trade deals” such as the North American Free Trade Agreement have led to lost jobs and stagnant wages in the United States. He has vowed to make changes to the NAFTA deal with Canada and Mexico, or withdraw from the pact altogether.
Trump also criticized Goldman Sachs during the Republican primary campaign, noting that the wife of GOP opponent Ted Cruz once worked there and Clinton received speaking fees from the firm.
“I know the guys at Goldman Sachs — they have total, total control over him,” Trump said of Cruz. “Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton.”