Trump's economic team of rivals

In one corner, you have Gary Cohn, incoming director of the National Economic Council, outgoing president of Goldman Sachs. Cohn, a commodities trader known for his hard-charging style, holds relatively traditional views on free-market mantras such as balancing regulation with encouraging the flow of capital. In a graduation speech at American University in 2009, he spoke of how after college, he told his father he had “fallen in love with financial markets”—so passionate about them that he bluffed his way into a job trading options on Wall Street. Summing up his life lessons, he encouraged the students to lean in: “Everything I’ve done in my career, and everything that most of you have done to this point, is to take risks.”

In another corner, you have Wilbur Ross, the incoming commerce secretary, who looks to wield considerable influence. Ross made his billions buying up distressed assets, not in finance per se, and he has been outspoken about his preference for reviving domestic U.S. companies and taking a stronger stance against Chinese competition. He’s not a fan of NAFTA: For years, Ross has railed against “bad trade deals,” at one point comparing them to “bondage.”

Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary pick, is another product of Goldman. Mnuchin has said little about his views on economics, but he did reap considerable profit from buying up IndyMac and its distressed mortgages during the heart of the financial crisis even at the cost of many foreclosures. During an interview on CNBC the day of his appointment, Mnuchin said his top priorities were tax reform and rolling back the Dodd-Frank Act – not exactly what all those voters demanding the return of lost industries in middle America were clamoring for. A donor mostly to Democrats, he doesn’t appear to have a deep commitment to Trump or Trumpism. Asked for a Bloomberg profile why he signed up to be Trump’s finance chair during the campaign, he replied: “Nobody’s going to be like, ‘Well, why did he do this?’ if I end up in the administration.”