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US President Donald Trump has lost another cabinet member. This time it is Gary Cohn, his economic adviser who has quit his role in the White House over the president’s trade tariffs.
Reports said Cohn, viewed as a voice for Wall Street, resigned after battling with Trump over his plans to impose hefty steel and aluminium import tariffs.
Cohn is the Director of the National Economic Council.
In a statement, he said: “It has been an honour to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform
“I am grateful to the president for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the administration great success in the future.”
Trump has accepted the resignation and already shopping for a replacement.
He tweeted: “Will be making a decision soon on the appointment of new Chief Economic Advisor. Many people wanting the job – will choose wisely!”
When asked about the high turnover rate in the White House, Mr Trump said: “Many, many people want every single job… I could take any position in the White House and I’ll have a choice of the 10 top people having to do with that position. Everybody wants to be there.”
Despite pleas from UK Prime Minister Theresa May and several dissenting voices within White House, Mr Trump has pushed on with his plans for a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% levy on aluminium.
Showing that he woukd not back down, Trump tweeted this afternoon: “From Bush 1 to present, our Country has lost more than 55,000 factories, 6,000,000 manufacturing jobs and accumulated Trade Deficits of more than 12 Trillion Dollars. Last year we had a Trade Deficit of almost 800 Billion Dollars. Bad Policies & Leadership. Must WIN again! #MAGA”