Now Trump’s business chief quits

Finance guru Cohn to leave after losing tariffs battle, but president denies staffing crisis

DONALD TRUMP’S top economic adviser Gary Cohn has quit after failing to persuade the US president to drop his plan to impose new trade tariffs.

The latest departure from the White House comes a week after Mr Trump’s most trusted aide, Hope Hicks, resigned as communications director.

Mr Cohn, a free trade advocate, had issued an ultimatum that he could not continue in his role as head of the US National Economic Council if the Republican president went ahead with his tariff plan for steel and aluminium imports. He will leave in the next couple of weeks.

Mr Cohn, a Democrat and former president of Goldman Sachs, played a key role in guiding tax reforms through Congress late last year. More than one in three senior White House officials have left in Mr Trump’s first 12 months. In recent weeks, his administration has also lost White House staff secretary Rob Porter, as well as a speechwriter, an associate attorney general and the North Korea negotiator.

Mr Trump insisted last night that there was no staffing crisis. “Believe me, everybody wants to work in the White House,” he said. “They all want a piece of the Oval Office. They want a piece of the West Wing.”

Earlier, he tweeted: “The new Fake News narrative is that there is CHAOS in the White House. Wrong! People will always come & go, and I want strong dialogue before making a final decision. I still have some people that I want to change (always seeking perfection). There is no Chaos, only great Energy!”

Mr Trump allegedly denounced Mr Cohn as a “globalist” in private conversations yesterday. But publicly the president paid tribute to his economic adviser, calling him a “rare talent”. He added that he would “choose wisely” in appointing his successor.

Last summer, Mr Cohn was critical of Mr Trump’s reaction to racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying the administration “can and must do better” to condemn hate groups — and he nearly quit over the matter.

The president’s plan to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium was announced last week.

In a statement released by the White House, Mr Cohn, a former silver trader, said: “It has been an honour to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform. I am grateful to the president for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the administration great success in the future.”

‘Everybody wants to work in the White House. They all want a piece of the Oval Office’ President Trump