CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow will replace Gary Cohn as Trump's top economic adviser
- Larry Kudlow will replace Gary Cohn as President Donald Trump's top economic adviser.
- Kudlow was a staff economist at the New York Federal Reserve, worked in the Reagan administration, and was chief economist for Bear Stearns.
- Kudlow joined CNBC in 2001 and hosted a show on the network for 12 years.
Conservative economist Larry Kudlow will replace Gary Cohn as National Economic Council director and become the top economic adviser to President Donald Trump according to a new report.
Multiple reports say that Kudlow, who is a CNBC contributor, will be named NEC director as soon as Thursday.
Trump suggested that the offer was imminent while talking to reporters on Tuesday.
"I've known him a very long time. We don't agree on everything, but I think in this case I think that's good because I want a divergent opinion," Trump said.
Kudlow began his career as a staff economist at the New York Federal Reserve before joining President Ronald Reagan's administration as associate director for economics at the Office of Management and Budget.
Kudlow was then the chief economist for Bear Stearns from 1987 to 1994, when he was fired due to struggles with a cocaine addiction.
After Kudlow sought treatment, he became a media presence advocating for free-market, low-tax economics in the same vein as his former boss, Reagan. Most notably, Kudlow began appearing on CNBC in 2001, co-hosted a show with Jim Cramer from 2002 to 2005, anchored his own program through 2014, and continues to appear frequently on the network.
During Trump's run in 2016, Kudlow expressed support for Trump and acted as an informal adviser to the then-candidate. Following the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump bragged about groping women, Kudlow said he was considering writing in Mike Pence on his ballot. He eventually backed Trump.
In the early days of the administration, Kudlow was considered to be chair of the Council of Economic Advisers but was passed over due to his vocal disagreement with Trump on trade policy. Kudlow favors free-trade policies, contrary to Trump's more protectionist leanings.
Those concerns appear to not be an issue this time, despite Trump's recent forays into trade policy with new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.