For a year, Cohn had felt like he was beating his head against a brick wall, leading Groundhog Day tutorials on the benefits of free trade and the danger of tariffs.

After helping steer Trump’s victory on tax cuts, Cohn wanted another big assignment, commensurate with the skills, experience and appetite of a former president of Goldman Sachs.

Advocating for Trump’s infrastructure plan, which is dead on the Hill, wasn’t juicy enough.

Cohn said that if Trump could put him in a role where he would use 80% or 90% of his brain capacity, he’d stay. Otherwise, he should go.