Gary Cohn’s Shot at Fed Chair Falls Apart

Gary Cohn is out of the running for the top job at the Federal Reserve.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening that Donald Trump is “unlikely to nominate” Cohn, citing “people familiar with the president’s thinking.” A source familiar with the matter has confirmed this to Breitbart News.

The cause of Cohn’s fall was his reaction to the president’s comments about violence in Charlottesville, Va. In an August interview with the Financial Times, Cohn criticized Trump, saying the administration “can and must do better.” Privately Cohn has told associates he was disgusted with the president’s remarks.

Cohn’s criticism caught Trump by surprise and left the president seething with anger, according to a person familiar with the president’s reaction.

Breitbart News has been raising doubts about Cohn’s qualifications for the role of Fed chair for several months. Cohn’s background as one of the top executives at Goldman Sachs and a lifelong Democrat have always made him appear to be a strange fit in an administration elected on a platform of economic nationalism. Even Trump reportedly calls Cohn “Globalist Gary.”

Trump had said in a July interview with the Wall Street Journal that Cohn was a candidate to replace Fed chair Janet Yellen when her term expires next year.