Gary Cohn Resigns as White House Economic Adviser After Losing Tariffs Fight
Defeat on tariffs was latest setback for Mr. Cohn, who has seen many ups and downs in turbulent West Wing
Gary Cohn will resign from the White House after 14 months serving as President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, he said Tuesday, days after Mr. Trump surprised his senior staff by announcing steel and aluminum tariffs that Mr. Cohn had opposed.
During his time at the White House, Mr. Cohn oversaw a major revamp of the U.S. tax code and pushed a significant rewrite of financial rules. But the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive stumbled in an uphill and monthslong fight to sway Mr. Trump against the tariffs. He was also on the losing side of an effort to prevent the U.S. withdrawal last year from the Paris climate accord, and will leave having made little progress advancing a $1 trillion infrastructure program.
Financial markets have seesawed in recent weeks, first on the prospect that higher federal budget deficits approved by Mr. Trump might boost inflation and interest rates and more recently because of his desire to start a “trade war.”
Mr. Cohn’s departure could further rattle investors. Though not universally well liked on Wall Street, Mr. Cohn was widely admired for his market savvy and his pro-trade world view, which many traders and executives share. The dollar slumped, and futures in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 300 points, or 1.2%, late Tuesday.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gary-cohn-to-resign-as-president-trumps-economic-adviser-1520376157
Defeat on tariffs was latest setback for Mr. Cohn, who has seen many ups and downs in turbulent West Wing
Gary Cohn will resign from the White House after 14 months serving as President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, he said Tuesday, days after Mr. Trump surprised his senior staff by announcing steel and aluminum tariffs that Mr. Cohn had opposed.
During his time at the White House, Mr. Cohn oversaw a major revamp of the U.S. tax code and pushed a significant rewrite of financial rules. But the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive stumbled in an uphill and monthslong fight to sway Mr. Trump against the tariffs. He was also on the losing side of an effort to prevent the U.S. withdrawal last year from the Paris climate accord, and will leave having made little progress advancing a $1 trillion infrastructure program.
Financial markets have seesawed in recent weeks, first on the prospect that higher federal budget deficits approved by Mr. Trump might boost inflation and interest rates and more recently because of his desire to start a “trade war.”
Mr. Cohn’s departure could further rattle investors. Though not universally well liked on Wall Street, Mr. Cohn was widely admired for his market savvy and his pro-trade world view, which many traders and executives share. The dollar slumped, and futures in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 300 points, or 1.2%, late Tuesday.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gary-cohn-to-resign-as-president-trumps-economic-adviser-1520376157