Why Gary Cohn Could Spark Stock Market Panic If He Quits Trump Cabinet

Gary Cohn Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon August 18, 2017

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 solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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