Trump names activist investor Carl Icahn, China critic Peter Navarro as key advisers on trade, regulation
On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump named activist investor Carl Icahn as an adviser on regulatory issues, and picked strident China critic Peter Navarro to head a new White House advisory council on trade and industrial policy. Icahn, a top donor to Trump's campaign, will draw no salary, but the position will give the billionaire investor a large say over how his own industry is regulated, leading securities lawyer Andrew Stoltmann to call the appointment "a little like asking the fox to guard the hen house." "Carl was with me from the beginning, and with his being one of the world's great businessmen, that was something I truly appreciated," Trump said in a statement. "His help on the strangling regulations that our country is faced with will be invaluable."
Icahn, 80, will help Trump pick a new Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, a position with a direct impact on Icahn's form of shareholder activism, and he was a key adviser as Trump was deciding on his selection to head the Environmental Protection Agency. One of the regulations Icahn has been vocal about scrapping would save an oil refinery he controls, CVR Energy Inc., more than $200 million this year, The Wall Street Journal reports, and the 67 percent rise in CVR Energy's shares since Trump's election has boosted the value of Icahn's investment by more than $600 million. He has rejected suggestions that he is advising Trump to advance his own economic interests.
Navarro, 67, is a professor at UC Irvine and the only PhD economist in Trump's inner circle. He has argued, including in a 2012 documentary called Death by China, that China is beating the U.S. in an economic war by subsidizing its exports and restricting U.S. imports. In a statement, Trump called Navarro "a visionary economist" who will "develop trade policies that shrink our trade deficit, expand our growth, and help stop the exodus of jobs from our shores." Most economists say that Trump's policies to bring about those changes would damage the U.S. economy and raise prices for American consumers, noting that the big driver behind shrinking factory jobs is mechanization not trade.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Supreme Court to resolve Louisiana gerrymander
Speed Read The court will hear a case challenging the second majority-Black district in the state
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
America might be in a second Gilded Age
In the Spotlight The first Gilded Age was marked by rising inequality and a push for social change
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published