Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs executive and ex-top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, was among the dwindling ranks of free market advocates in Trump's circle who have often butt heads with the president's protectionist agenda. | Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images Government Shutdown Ex-Trump aide Gary Cohn calls shutdown 'completely wrong'

Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs executive and ex-top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, denounced the partial government shutdown as "completely wrong" in an interview published by the Boston Globe on Thursday.

The shutdown, which entered its 27th day Thursday and is the longest in history, shows no sign of ending soon as Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse over granting Trump more than $5 billion for a wall on the southern border. While Trump called the wall necessary for national security, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it "immoral," leading to a standoff that has furloughed thousands of federal workers and threatened basic public infrastructure.


“I don’t understand what the outcome is here, and I don’t understand where we’re going with it,” Cohn said in the interview. “I’m confused as to what the White House’s strategy is on this a little bit.”

He added the furloughing of thousands of federal workers “makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

Cohn, a Democrat, was among the dwindling ranks of free market advocates in Trump's circle who have often butt heads with the president's protectionist agenda. Cohn resigned from his position last year after the president imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the shutdown could delay key trade discussions, including with Japan and the European Union, The Wall Street Journal reported. Congress could also be stalled reviewing Trump's revised trade deal with Mexico and Canada, so long as the shutdown keeps the International Trade Commission from finishing a report on the deal, Grassley said.

The revised trade deal with Mexico and Canada was one of Trump's major campaign promises. Trump repeatedly lambasted its predecessor, NAFTA, as benefiting Mexico and Canada at the United States' expense and spent days praising himself for the revised version signed during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires last November. Congress still needs to approve the deal for it to go into effect — but the shutdown puts that final step in question.