White House Signals Kudlow Is Frontrunner for Top Economic Job

US President Donald Trump signaled on Tuesday that conservative commentator Larry Kudlow is the frontrunner to become the top economic adviser at the White House, though he said he was also speaking with other candidates.

Kudlow, 70, a long-time friend and early supporter of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, would fill the vacancy at the National Economic Council created by the resignation of veteran Wall Street banker Gary Cohn, Reuters reported.

Cohn announced his resignation as NEC director last week in a move triggered by Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Kudlow has also publicly disagreed with the tariffs.

But Trump said Kudlow has “come around” to see the tariffs as a useful tool for renegotiating trade deals.

“We don’t agree on everything, but in this case, I think that’s good. I want to have a divergent opinion. We agree on most,” Trump said. “I think Larry has a very good chance,” Trump told reporters. Kudlow was an economic adviser to former Republican president, Ronald Reagan, and spent time on Wall Street before becoming a recognized face on cable television.