GARY COHN/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republicans in Congress who viewed Gary Cohn as their best ally in efforts to steer President Donald Trump away from a protectionist trade policy expressed concern over his departure Wednesday [3-7-18].
Mr. Cohn said Tuesday night he would resign after 14 months in the administration, where he served as director of the National Economic Council. A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, Mr. Cohn as top White House economic adviser had fought within the administration to stop the president from levying broad steel and aluminum tariffs, which Mr. Trump announced last week… Although he is a registered Democrat, Mr. Cohn had been singled out by congressional Republicans this week as their most reliable partner on trade policy in a White House where a more protectionist view has been ascendant…
The Republican Party has traditionally favored free trade and opposed protective tariffs. Republicans in Congress weren’t happy about Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations, but toned down their criticism to avoid tension with the White House. They have also registered their opposition publicly and in White House meetings to Mr. Trump’s effort to renegotiate the 24-year-old Nafta free trade deal with Mexico and Canada.”
-Siobhan Hughes and Kristina Peterson, “Congressional Republicans Lament Loss of Free-Trade Ally in White House,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 7, 2018 02:14pm