Gary Cohn Resigns, the White House Suffers Another Loss

On Tuesday, Gary D. Cohn, the top economic adviser of President Trump, has declared his resignation, joining a number of departures from the White House following Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest aides.

While White House officials claimed that there was not a single factor that resulted in Mr. Cohn’s decision, many suspect that his decision to depart sprang forth from his loss in an internal struggle regarding Mr. Trump’s plan to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum internationally. In fact, earlier last week he had hinted at the possibility of his resignation if Mr. Trump carried out the tariffs, and now the tariffs are officially in place, Cohn’s resignation does not strike as a surprise.

Before Mr. Cohn, Mr. Trump’s communications director, Hopes Hick, and a staff secretary, Rob Porter have already left the White House. Along with these two important key figures, the president has also lost a speechwriter, an associate attorney general and the negotiator of North Korea.

Mr. Cohn’s departure has triggered concerns over Mr. Trump’s economic decisions and the implications on America’s domestic finance, as Mr. Cohn has steered Mr. Trump away repeatedly from nationalist-minded policies in the past during his time. His departure means that Mr. Trump’s economic advisers are left with those who strongly preferred aggressive trade measures like tariffs. Losing Mr. Cohn is losing the last straw in holding Mr. Trump back from protectionist policies and measures.

Mr. Cohn has long been an advocate for free trade and lax trade measures. He believed that Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum would hinder economic growth while Mr. Trump insisted on his return to more nationalist policies, as promised in his 2018 midterm elections approach. He has continuously tried to block off the metal tariffs in working and attempted to convince Mr. Trump to change his mind about withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

He has also been a passionate adversary of the “America First” approach of Mr. Trump in his economic and financial stances. His efforts extended beyond just trade as he also advocated for the preservation of workplace rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, as well as pushing for Mr. Trump to remain in the Paris climate accord.

He also wrote a resignation letter in August last year in response to the president’s remarks regarding the nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. He calls Mr. Trump to do better on dealing with hate groups and was convinced by Mr. Trump to stay in office at the moment.

This series of resignations have caused chaos and instability in the White House, which is dismissed by Mr. Trump himself on Tuesday. He, in fact, acknowledged the fractious environment in the White House and claimed: “I like conflict. I like having two people with different points of view.” He also was confident to hire, receipt or retain people to work for him, dismissing the concerns that many Republicans were reluctant to join his team because of his easily distracted nature.

As for the future of Mr. Cohn, officials said that he has considered a number of options including starting his own investment firm or a more senior job in the White House, though he hasn’t made his mind just yet.

Featured Image via Flickr