Trump's top economic adviser resigns
Washington: Former Goldman Sachs executive Gary Cohn resigned on Tuesday from his post as chief economic adviser to President Donald Trump due to disagreement with the White House plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.
"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. I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future," the 57-year-old Cohn said in a statement.
His resignation reportedly will take effect in the coming weeks.
"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," said Trump in a statement released by the White House.
Cohn is the latest in a long list of Trump's close advisers to resign and the announcement comes just a few days after the departure of the president's faithful adviser and communications director, Hope Hicks.
The president announced last week that he would impose the tariffs despite the opposition of a large number of Republican lawmakers and Cohn.
The departure of Cohn, a Democrat who is a defender of free trade, could have a domino effect on the president's economic decisions and on the financial sector, given that last August the mere threat of his exit caused the investment markets to tumble.
Indeed, in after-hours trading, one exchange-traded fund measuring the broad US stock market - the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) - fell more than 1 percent after the news of Cohn's resignation broke.
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Six killed, 5 injured as passenger vehicle hits truck in Odisha
Sundargarh (Odisha) (PTI): Six people were killed and five others injured after a vehicle in which they were travelling rammed into a truck in Odisha's Sundargarh district early on Saturday, police said.
The accident occurred near Gaikanapali area under the Hemgiri Police Station limits when the passenger-carrying van hit the truck from behind, a senior officer said.
"Six members of a 'kirtan' group died on the spot, and five others were injured. Maybe, the accident occurred due to fog in the area," he said.
The 'kirtan' party went to Chakkplai village for a programme on the occasion of Diwali, and the accident took place when they were returning to their villages.
The deceased people belonged to Kandagoda and Samarpinda villages in the district.
The injured persons were admitted to a local hospital, the officer said.
Local people blocked the road, demanding ex gratia for the victims' families.
