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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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
