President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, probably will not get the nod as Federal Reserve chairman because of his blunt critique of Trump's response to the Charlottesville, Virginia, violence last month, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said Trump appears open to considering additional names for a pick he has promised to make by the end of the year.
Trump had told the Journal in July he was considering Cohn as a potential chairman of the Fed.
Other names Trump has discussed as possible nominees include former governors Lawrence Lindsey and Kevin Warsh, former BB&T Bank Chief Executive John Allison, and Stanford University economist John Taylor, the Journal reported.
According to the Journal, Cohn might have scotched his chance at the Fed job when he told the Financial Times the Trump administration "can and must do better" to condemn hate groups.
The Journal reported Cohn told associates he was disgusted by Trump's performance immediately after the president's Aug. 15 news conference about the Charlottesville events.
But the critique to the FT caught Trump off guard, the Journal reported — and he now "visibly bristles" at the mention of Cohn.
An unnamed White House official told the Journal that Cohn might be able to patch up his relationship with Trump if he successfully shepherds an overhaul of the federal tax code through Congress.
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