Cohn departs White House

WASHINGTON—White House chief economic advisor Gary Cohn submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday. The former Goldman Sachs president decided to leave the Trump administration after clashing with the president on new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. “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,” 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.” The move follows a string of departures from top White House staff. White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned last month amid domestic violence accusations, and White House communications director Hope Hicks announced her exit last week. Cohn’s relationship with Trump soured after the violence in Charlottesville, Va., last year. The economic chief took exception to Trump’s response that “all sides” were responsible for the violent rally that left one woman dead and 19 others injured. The Washington Post reported that Cohn wrote his resignation letter after the incident in August, but decided not to hand it in until Tuesday. Trump downplayed reports that people no longer want to work for his administration. “Will be making a decision soon on the appointment of new Chief Economic Advisor,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “Many people wanting the job—will choose wisely!”