Transcript: Gary Cohn on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 1, 2026

The next is the transcript of the interview with Gary Cohn, IBM vice chairman and former director of the U.S. Nationwide Financial Council, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 1, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to Face the Nation. For an replace now on the financial system, we’re joined by Gary Cohn, who was the highest financial advisor to President Trump throughout his first time period in workplace. He’s now the vice chairman of IBM. Good to have you ever again right here.

GARY COHN, IBM VICE CHAIRMAN: Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So the president has this editorial in The Wall Road Journal arguing all of the financial success that we’re seeing proper now is because of his tariff insurance policies. The legality of that, of a few of these tariffs are being debated proper now earlier than the Supreme Courtroom. How factual do you assess his argument to be?

COHN: Properly, I believe we have to take a step again. The financial system is kind of robust proper now on top-line progress. So if you happen to take a look at GDP, gross home product, which is the general output of the U.S. financial system, we’re trending about 5% proper now, which is a really excessive progress charge in america, a lot greater than the baseline we have had for the final decade. So if you happen to take a look at that quantity alone, and that is a superb quantity to take a look at, issues are going effectively. The inflation charge has come all the way down to the excessive 2%. It is nonetheless greater than we would prefer it. And the unemployment charge is ticking up, but it surely’s nonetheless in an affordable place round 4, 4.5%. So total, the financial system is kind of robust proper now. That mentioned, we have an fascinating financial system proper now. We have this large wealth impact on the prime finish. And we have hardworking People who’re having a really tough time paying their payments, and so they’re struggling on this financial system. And I believe the White Home has acknowledged that they are struggling. I believe a part of the explanation the president wrote the op-ed was to try to get out in entrance of people who find themselves having a tough time paying their payments and assembly their bills. The White Home is happening the offensive. The president goes to spend trip on the street speaking about affordability. Affordability goes to be the problem.

MARGARET BRENNAN: He says it is a hoax.

COHN: Properly, I believe affordability would be the concern between now and the midterm elections.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Proper. And we all know the chief of workers has mentioned she desires the president on the market speaking in regards to the financial system. However you simply talked about what customers are feeling. The White Home says folks will simply really feel higher after tax time. You wrote that authentic tax legislation that was then simply renewed and prolonged by Congress. However you might be seeing firms like Amazon announce its chopping 16,000 company jobs. MasterCard chopping 4% of its 35,000-person workforce. UPS, 30,000 jobs gone. Dow, 4,500. Dwelling Depot, 800. If all the things’s trending in a optimistic path, what’s going on there?

COHN: So we did see over 60,000 further layoffs come out of firms final week throughout the earnings season. It is sometimes when firms speak about managing bills. Firms right this moment have two staple items happening. Primary, firms hoarded labor throughout and after COVID. After we have been working from dwelling and other people have been distant, productiveness went down and firms have been apprehensive about getting the workloads performed. So most firms find yourself hiring further folks or not letting anybody go. So workforces ballooned. And I believe we’re now within the a part of the cycle the place company America could be very snug about changing folks. They’re very snug about hiring folks. So that they’re downsizing their headcount from hoarding to type of a extra naturalized stage. And I believe loads of these numbers that we noticed this week being introduced have been firms rightsizing themselves. Along with that, we’ve got seen enter prices for firms go up fairly dramatically, whether or not or not it’s labor price, commodity prices or tariffs, as we agree. Somebody has to pay the tariffs. In order firms are attempting to steadiness their equation–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –The president says there isn’t any price to it that is going to harm an organization.

COHN: However he additionally says that there is $200 billion plus sitting in an account of cash they’ve collected. So the cash’s being paid by somebody. So the companies are paying the cash. They’re attempting to determine learn how to cope with enter prices going up, tariffs going off, price of labor going up, and probably not being able to boost costs to the buyer as a result of we have seen how powerful it’s for lots of People to afford issues right this moment. So firms are strolling that superb line between absorbing enter prices and never with the ability to elevate costs.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So the White Home, as you mentioned, they’re conscious they’ve an issue, even when they do not need to explicitly say they’ve an issue politically due to that lower-end client. However whenever you look, one of many concepts being floated by the president is a one-year cap on bank card charges at 10% and someway getting Congress to compel that. He signed an govt order to restrict institutional traders from shopping for single-family houses. After which he is floated this concept of $2,000 checks, which can or might not require Congress. What do you consider these consumer-focused components of the plan? Are they viable?

COHN: Look, I believe it is admirable that they are understanding that individuals are money trapped right this moment. They’re caught with not sufficient disposable earnings. So I believe the White Home is throwing out concepts that can put extra disposable earnings again in customers’ hands–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –These are usually not concepts you’ll have endorsed whenever you have been in that advisor role–

COHN: –Sadly, sadly, these concepts most likely do not remedy the issue. Actually, the bank card charges most likely have the alternative impact. So bank card firms cost folks a risk-adjusted charge to lend them cash. Clearly, worst credit, folks that have the best chance of defaulting pay the best charges. Should you put a cap on charges that may be charged, what do firms do? They really cease lending to the riskiest a part of the inhabitants. And so their customers will lose buying energy, not acquire buying energy. You recognize, on the housing facet, the one factor I remind folks is the institutional accumulation of housing occurred after the ’08 monetary disaster. After we had an enormous glut of homes in america, costs have been plummeting. So the monetary markets stepped in and so they put a assist beneath the housing market. And we will not neglect how vital these monetary gamers are in occasions of stress.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, we also needs to say you labored for Goldman Sachs and have been president there for a really very long time, together with throughout that monetary disaster. However let’s not relitigate a few of that, however speak about somebody you bought to know throughout that point. That was Kevin Warsh, who was a Fed governor and is now President Trump’s decide to be the following chairman of the Federal Reserve. He is referred to as for all types of reforms of the Fed. What do you anticipate from him in workplace?

COHN: So, look, I believe we’re very lucky to have Kevin to be the nominee. Kevin has a novel background coming in because the chair. As you mentioned, he was a member of the Fed board earlier than. He was there throughout the 2008 monetary disaster. He was instrumental in that disaster. What I imply by that’s when banks have been going via stress, and we noticed loads of financial institution mergers, we noticed loads of property being moved across the system, Kevin was the purpose particular person on the Fed. He was concerned in each a kind of discussions. And I actually consider with out Kevin’s experience and with out Kevin being there, we’d not have come out of the 2008 disaster in addition to we’ve got. So he is very extremely certified. He will take the Fed again to its conventional type of norms. You recognize, I believe Kevin’s going to remain out of loads of the non-financial points. He will be concerned, clearly, in setting rate of interest coverage. There’s a stress proper now for rates of interest to go decrease. I believe that he’ll most likely observe via on the one to 2 cuts this yr. Kevin additionally has a view that the Fed mustn’t have the massive steadiness sheet. You recognize, the Fed went in and acquired monumental quantity of securities–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Quantitative easing (inaudible)

COHN: I believe that Kevin will reverse that. I believe he shall be on the lookout for the Fed to promote down their steadiness sheet. And on the regulatory entrance, I believe Kevin is a, is a traditionalist believing that we want robust regulation in america, but it surely needs to be regulation that works and permits the market to develop and permits the buyer to have entry to capital. So I believe he’s truly the fully proper selection in this time period. And on Friday, when his nomination got here out, the markets spoke.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

COHN: And I believe you need to take a look at what the markets let you know as a result of they’re real-time suggestions indicators.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Proper.

COHN: So we noticed the greenback strengthen by about 1%. We noticed silver drop by 25%. We noticed gold drop by 10%–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –The president additionally spoke final evening at a dinner and mentioned he will sue Warsh if he does not decrease rates of interest. You are taking that as a joke?

COHN: Sure, I take it as a joke. Look, I believe the president fully understands the independence of the Fed. Kevin has been a staunch advocate for independence of the Fed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, he is bought a affirmation course of to undergo, and we’ll see if Thom Tillis’s request for the Division of Justice’s probe into the present Fed chair stands in the way in which of truly getting him via. However we’ll observe that. Gary Cohn, at all times good to have you ever right here.

COHN: Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be proper again.