After Being Blindsided, Kudlow Finally Gets the Nod

Larry Kudlow got blindsided in 2017 when President Trump was putting together his White House staff. He was a Trump loyalist, having announced his support at approximately the moment Trump announced his candidacy. And he and his partner Stephen Moore—both longtime advocates of supply-side, or growth, economics—had crafted Trump's tax cut plan during the campaign. It's the plan that went on to become the framework for the sweeping tax measure enacted in December.Kudlow appeared wired to become the top economic adviser at the White House, a job that would put him in closer proximity to the president on a daily basis than either the Treasury secretary or the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Everything seemed to be in place. Then Kudlow didn't get the job.One day during the transition, Jared Kushner brought a friend by Trump Tower to introduce to his father-in-law. His name was Gary Cohn. He was the COO of Goldman Sachs. Trump was smitten. He suggested Cohn would make a great Treasury secretary, except that job had been taken by Steven Mnuchin. Cohn got the White House economic job.