It’s being reported now that President Trump has told his advisers that Gary Cohn may leave the administration if the steel tariffs are instituted:
BLOOMBERG – President Donald Trump has told advisers that he believes economic adviser Gary Cohn will leave his White House job if Trump decides to go forward with tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, people familiar with the matter say.
Cohn has mounted a last-ditch effort, along with other administration officials and some Republican lawmakers, to head off steep tariffs that threaten to unleash a global trade war.
Cohn has been summoning executives from U.S. companies that depend on the metals to meet this week with Trump to try to blunt or halt the tariffs, according to those familiar with the meeting planning. It’s unclear whether Cohn’s moves would be enough to change the president’s mind.
I’m glad Gary Cohn is still working hard to try and convince Trump not to impose these tariffs. But if Trump goes through with this, and it looks like he will, then I wouldn’t blame Cohn for leaving. After all Trump will be undermining much of the hard work Cohn and others have put into the tax reform bill that passed Congress last year.
Besides, what’s the point of being Trump’s chief economic adviser if Trump isn’t going to listen to him?
And if he leaves it will be another in a long list of people who’ve left the administration in what amounts to a little more than Trump’s first year.