Trump CEO strategy council is said to disband after exodus

Published Wed, Aug 16, 2017 · 05:35 PM

[NEW YORK] President Donald Trump's council of senior business leaders who advise on strategy and policy is disbanding, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The executive council, which is led by Blackstone Group LP's Stephen Schwarzman, planned to inform the White House Wednesday before making the announcement public, according to the person, who wasn't authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The strategy group is one of several the White House convened earlier this year to advise the president. Several CEOs from a manufacturing council quit this week, following blowback over Mr Trump's remarks about racially charged violence in Virginia on Saturday.

Pressure to leave the groups has built following a press conference Mr Trump held in New York Tuesday where he placed partial blame for the weekend violence on demonstrators protesting a gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. A woman was killed during the event after a man rammed a car into a crowd.

While more than half a dozen CEOs have quit a manufacturing CEO group, others have said they wanted to stay on the panels in order to influence White House policy.

The manufacturing council hasn't met since February. The CEOs of Under Armour, Intel, Merck quit earlier this week. And on Wednesday, Inge Thulin, CEO of 3M left, as did Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison.

"Following yesterday's remarks from the president, I cannot remain on the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative," Ms Morrison said in a statement. "I will continue to support all efforts to spur economic growth and advocate for the values that have always made America great."

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