President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser Gary Cohn resigned Tuesday with markets and major ETFs down after hours.
As of 7 pm Eastern, Dow futures were down 326 points after hours, or 1.31% percent, at 24,538.00. The largest ETF, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), was down 1.15% from the close of trading while the PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) was lower by 1.18%.
“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. He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump’s decision to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports struck a strong cord of disagreement with Cohn, former Goldman Sachs president and chief operating officer who strongly opposes tariffs.
After less than 14 months in his role as The White House Economic Council director, Cohn’s exit is icing on the cake after a handful of goodbyes from other top officials in the administration.
In a prepared statement provided by the White House, Cohn said, “I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future.”