When Donald Trump campaigned last spring in the Republican primaries, he touted his tax cuts in a special way. To give them credibility, he would declare proudly that economist Larry Kudlow loved them.
Indeed, Kudlow did. He had helped put together Trump’s economic plan and later called on to refine it. And Kudlow, a senior economist in the Reagan White House and two Wall Street firms before hosting a CNBC show on economics for a decade, had early on endorsed Trump for president.
So it was no surprise that Kudlow, 69, might be in line for a major economics post in the Trump administration. He has an additional asset. He is a favorite of Republicans and conservatives, including Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, the tax-writing committee.
Kudlow had his eye on the National Economic Council in the White House, which coordinates administration economic policy. But he was passed over and Trump installed Gary Cohn, the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment bank, as NEC director. Trump, oddly enough, had often attacked Goldman Sachs in campaign speeches.
In mid-December, Kudlow was reported to be Trump's choice to head the Council of Economic Advisers, which analyzes economic trends and advises the president on policy. But that wasn't quite true. Kudlow was merely under consideration for the CEA job. Now, more than two weeks later, he still is.