Economic Nationalism Wins: Gary Cohn, Chief Economic Advisor, to Resign

White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 28, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

In a victory for the average voter who supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn will resign. The resignation comes as President Trump plans to return to the message of economic nationalism that fueled by greatest political upset in modern U.S. political history.

In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Cohn said it had been “an honor to serve my country.”

“It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform,” Mr. Cohn said in a statement. “I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future.”

While Mr.Cohn represented the free-trading Goldman Sachs wing of the West Wing, President Trump praised his service during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Its passage represented the first overhaul to the U.S. tax code in more than 31 years.

“Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” President Trump said in a statement to The New York Times. “He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”

Mr. Cohen’s resignation also comes after President Trump announced his intentions to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum in an effort to protect U.S. producers and workers.

The former New York businessman-turned-President of the United States ran for the highest office in the land vowing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order making good on the latter and moving to renegotiate NAFTA on a bilateral basis.

He is expected to make a formal announcement this week that his administration will impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% tariff on imported aluminum. President Trump said on Monday that he will reconsider proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum if and when a “new and fair NAFTA agreement is signed.”

Mr.Cohn was constantly in opposition to the platform of economic nationalism that resulted in the cracking of the Blue Wall in November of 2016. President Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Pennsylvania and Michigan since 1988 and the first to carry Wisconsin since 1984.

White House chief of staff General John F. Kelly said he would “miss having him as a partner in the White House, but he departs having made a real impact in the lives of the American people.”