Thursday, a Trump Advisor confirmed CNBC business analyst Larry Kudlow has been chosen to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Kudlow served as an advisor to Trump’s campaign.
Reports suggest the announcement will be official sometime in the next two days.
The Detroit News reports:
Conservative economist Stephen Moore, who advised Trump’s presidential campaign on economic policy, disclosed Kudlow’s appointment to the influential post during a lunchtime speech to the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce’s economic club.“And who better than Larry? He’s one of the great economists in this country,” said Moore, who has been advising Trump on tax policy in the transition.Moore, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, said he believes Trump’s transition team will announce Kudlow’s appointment “within the next 48 hours.”A Trump transition team spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.Kudlow, who previously hosted his own CNBC show called “The Kudlow Report,” remains a senior contributor for the business news cable television network.Moore and Kudlow worked for the Trump campaign as senior economic advisers, helping the New York businessman craft his tax and fiscal policies. During the primaries, Kudlow lavishly praised Trump’s tax cut plan.
Trump has drawn criticism for tending towards protectionism over free market principles:
But the two conservative economists had one central disagreement with Trump over trade, Moore said.“Larry said, ‘Donald, we can’t work for you. We believe in free trade and you’re more of a protectionist,’ ” he recalled. “And he said, ‘Look, I’m not a protecionist, and I want a change in the trade laws, but I’m not a protectionist.’ ”Moore said Trump told him and Kudlow they could “agree to disagree” on his plans to renegotiate or walk away from international trade pacts, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.“(Trump) said, ‘But I want you guys to work on tax policy and fiscal policy … regulatory policy,’ ” Moore said. “And I respect that … he’s not just going to surround himself with yes men, but people who may disagree with him.”Moore gave a nearly hour-long speech to Lansing-area business owners and leaders, detailing Trump’s plans for spurring economic growth with tax cuts for individuals, large corporations and small businesses.Trump wants to cut America’s corporate income tax rate from 38.9 percent to 15 percent and ensure small businesses pay the same top rate as large corporations, Moore said.“We’re going to go from having the highest tax rate to virtually the lowest,” Moore said at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center. “… Every single small business in America is going to be taxed at 15 percent.”
Here’s Kudlow talking about Trump’s economic plan in September:
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