Gary Cohn to resign as Trump's top economic adviser

Gary Cohn is leaving the White House after opposing President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive and Trump’s chief economic adviser, had been pushing to host CEOs and other top executives at the White House to discuss their opposition to the tariffs, as reported by FOX Business. Speculation grew this week that Cohn would step down from his post if the president moved forward with imposing the tariffs.

In a statement, Cohn said it was “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.”

Trump said Cohn “did a superb job” driving the administration’s economic agenda and called the former investment banker a “rare talent.”

Trump has proposed a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports, saying they are necessary to protect U.S. jobs. Opponents of the move argue that steel and aluminum tariffs will increase the cost of goods in the U.S.