President Donald Trump’s chief trade adviser, Peter Navarro, known for espousing a hardline view toward U.S. relations with China on trade and other issues, is set to have an even greater influence on the administration following the departure of another top economic adviser who favors a conciliatory approach to China.

The March 6 resignation of Gary Cohn, who served as the director of the National Economic Council from the beginning of the Trump presidency, wasreported to have been triggered by Cohn’s confrontation with the president in the Oval Office overTrump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs banker and a supporter of the existing trade system, has been in a yearlong feud with Navarro, one of the administration’s most prominent figures pushing forwardFredreka Schouten

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Tuesday's Senate primary in North Carolina offers the latest gauge of whether the Republican Party establishment and its deep-pocketed allies are winning the battle against the GOP's Tea Party factions.

Two groups tied to mainstream Republican interests — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a newly flush American Crossroads super PAC — have spent a combined $2 million in North Carolina to boost Thom Tillis, the speaker of the state House of Representatives. Tillis needs to top 40% of the vote in Tuesday's primary to avoid a costly runoff for the right to face Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in the fall.

The last-minute surge of support for Tillis includes an endorsement from former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

But the outcome