Why Gary Cohn Could Spark Stock Market Panic If He Quits Trump Cabinet
President Trump’s comments on Charlottesville were said to have left Gary Cohn in high dudgeon, with speculation running rampant that the economic adviser could resign from his administration post. That prospect apparently worries the markets, according to some high financiers.
Cohn is “the security blanket for Wall Street… the alpha adult in the room,” said one person in the know, talking to the Axios newsletter on background. The insider added, talking about recent jitters on the stock exchange: “There’s this fear that if he leaves, there’ll be a domino effect.”
The Axios report linked sharp fluctuations on the stock market Thursday to differing news accounts and speculation about whether Cohn would remain within the administration. Cohn was before his stint at the White House the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, the key deputy to chief executive Lloyd Blankfein.
Cohn entered the administration with the ostensible goal of pushing tax and regulatory reform friendly to business and high finance, but the White House’s main legislative priorities – including an overhaul – of the tax code has so far eluded it.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO