Business Groups Court White House Even After C.E.O. Defections
Last Wednesday, even as top executives were abandoning President Trump’s business advisory councils after his remarks on white supremacist
violence in Charlottesville, Va., other industry leaders were busy making their interests known to a business-friendly White House.
Such coordination between industry groups and the White House stands in contrast to last week’s unraveling of the business advisory groups,
but confirms what many in the corporate world say: Behind the scenes, there is still active dialogue between business groups and the administration.
And that relative normalcy — even on a day when a number of prominent C. E.O.s publicly abandoned Mr. Trump — served as a reminder
that no matter the president’s missteps, his top legislative priorities, particularly tax reform, still draw strong support from business leaders.
So there has got to be some ability for businesses, hopefully large
and small, to engage with this administration, as there was such great promise going in.”
There are even questions about whether or not the executives who once made up his advisory councils will be
willing to speak out in support of causes they shared with the White House, including a tax code overhaul.
These C. E.O.s were going to be the ambassadors for the administration to talk about tax reform, about health care reform, about infrastructure.”
And there are other issues where business interests and the wishes of the White House diverge.
Now, with some signs that the worst fallout from Mr. Trump’s response to Charlottesville has passed —
and with the departure of Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s volatile strategist — some in the business community are voicing hope that the administration can tackle tax reform.