White House economic adviser Gary Cohn told ABC News that he can’t guarantee that taxes won’t go up for some middle-class families under the administration’s sweeping tax overhaul.
Said Cohn: “There’s an exception to every rule. I can’t guarantee anything. You can always find a unique family somewhere.”
“I’m talking – obviously, about Gary Cohn and some other people. That if you don’t like what he’s doing and you don’t agree with it, you have an obligation to resign.”
— Stephen Bannon, in an interview with CBS News.
President Trump “is unlikely to nominate Gary Cohn, his top economic adviser, as the next Federal Reserve chairman, indicating that he is open to considering additional names for a pick he has said he would like to make by year’s end,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Cohn may have doomed his chances for the top Fed job with comments he made to the Financial Times on Aug. 25… Mr. Cohn had told associates that he was disgusted by Mr. Trump’s performance immediately after the president’s combative news conference on Aug. 15 about the Charlottesville events.”
A GOP source close to the White House tells Jake Tapper that Cohn is “more likely to get electric chair than Fed Chair.”
“The Trump administration is sending mixed signals on how far along negotiators are on a tax reform plan,” Politico reports.
“National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said on CNBC Friday that only outlines have been set so far. That seemed to contradict Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told CNBC Thursday “we have a very detailed plan” that would come out later in September.”
President Trump was “furious” about Gary Cohn’s criticism of him in a Financial Times interview, a White House official tells the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Cohn’s critics celebrated the interview, hoping that it would undercut his stature with the president. Said one Trump ally outside the White House, who has been strategizing to undermine Cohn: “Cohn looks like he blew himself up, so we’re not going to have to blow him up.”
Meanwhile, Cohn was overheard complaining loudly about Trump while dining with friends at a Long Island restaurant.
“Cohn explained to his companions — in a loud voice overheard by others — that he had to be careful not to give Trump too much lead time about some new ideas because the president could disclose the information prematurely and upend the planning process, according to a person familiar with the dinner.”
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn “seriously considered resigning and even drafted a letter of resignation” after President Trump’s refusal to condemn hate groups, the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Cohn came close to resigning, according to one of the people briefed on the discussions. He met with Mr. Trump privately at the president’s golf club in New Jersey last Friday, scrapping his plans to spend the evening at his second home in the Hamptons.”
The White House “took the unusual step of saying that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn would not resign, trying to contain the fallout from President Trump’s controversial comments about the deadly riot in Charlottesville over the weekend and his assertion that ‘very fine people’ were protesting alongside neo-Nazis,” the Washington Post reports.
“Instead, the White House said that Cohn plans to stay put and focus on advancing Trump’s economic agenda. It was unclear, though, how long Cohn would remain in the job or if he is still a leading candidate to be nominated as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.”
President Trump “is increasingly unlikely to nominate Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen next year for a second term,” Politico reports.
“National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is now the leading candidate to succeed Yellen as the world’s most important central banker… If Trump taps Cohn for the Fed, it could enrage economic nationalists in the White House and some staunchly conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill who don’t like the former Goldman Sachs president’s background as a Democrat who generally favors free trade.”
“On the same day that President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, publicly promoted the administration’s plans to overhaul financial regulations, part of Cohn’s stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was sold,” Bloomberg reports.
“The bank’s share price rose that day by 4.5 percent on news of the planned regulatory review, as other financial-industry stocks also advanced.”
Washington Post: “Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, is capitalizing on his new position as director of Trump’s National Economic Council to push a centrist vision and court bipartisan support on some of Trump’s top agenda items such as tax reform and a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.”
“The growing strength of Cohn and like-minded moderates was on display this week as Trump reversed himself on several high-profile issues — including a less confrontational approach to China, an endorsement of government subsidies for exports and the current leadership of the Federal Reserve. The president’s new positions move him much closer to the views of Cohn and others on Wall Street, not to mention mainstream Republicans and Democrats.”
“In a White House short on experienced personnel, Cohn has found an edge by hiring two dozen policy experts, most with government experience.”
Wall Street Journal: “The White House has designated Mr. Cohn to play a central role on taxes, infrastructure, financial regulation and replacing the Affordable Care Act. He stood over the president’s shoulder as Mr. Trump signed executive orders on financial regulation. The White House says it is preparing a tax-overhaul plan for release within weeks, giving Mr. Cohn a prime role when several top economic posts remain vacant.”
“Though these will eventually be filled, Mr. Cohn is rapidly assembling a growing portfolio that could solidify his influence in the administration for the long term.”
Former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn “is leading the effort to craft President Trump’s plan to overhaul taxes,” Bloomberg reports.
Trump said it was a “phenomenal” plan and would be revealed within the next two or three weeks.
Gary Cohn will receive more than $100 million of stock and cash that would otherwise have been locked up for years as he leaves Goldman Sachs for a role in the Trump administration, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Cohn received $65 million in cash to cover his potential future bonuses at the bank … Those payouts would otherwise have been determined by how Goldman fared over the next several years. He also received $45 million worth of stock that was locked up or remained subject to clawback. He must now sell those shares to comply with government ethics rules. Mr. Cohn will be able to defer taxes on the profits from the sale of his Goldman stock, though he will owe taxes on some of the shares delivered.”
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Gary Cohn, the president of Goldman Sachs, to direct the National Economic Council, the New York Times reports.
“Adding Mr. Cohn to the economic team was a favorite idea of Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. And he does not break the streak of wealthy Trump teammates. His most recent total compensation package made public at Goldman exceeded $20.5 million.”
“Goldman Sachs shares, by the way, are up 33 percent since Election Day.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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