Wall Street is buzzing about the possibility of Gary Cohn replacing Janet Yellen:

  • Should President Donald Trump, choose to replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen or if she would leave on her own, Gary Cohn could be the leading replacement, according to speculation on Wall Street.
  • Cohn serves as head of the National Economic Council…
  • Other potential candidates are Kevin Warsh, Thomas Hoenig and John Taylor.

Should President Donald Trump choose to replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires next year, he could well turn to someone close by to fill the void.  Speculation is building on Wall Street that a likely replacement to run the central bank would be Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council and Trump’s closest economic advisor.   Cohn also is a former Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs.  “The buzz among those who claim Cohn confides in them is that he would like to eventually replace” Yellen, assuming Trump decides to move in a different direction when the chair’s term ends in early February, Beacon Policy Advisors said in its daily report for clients Tuesday.

“On paper, Cohn likely meets Trump’s expected top two requirements for a Fed chair candidate,” the Beacon analysis said, specifically citing Cohn’s advocacy for deregulation and his likelihood to keep interest rates low as Trump seeks to implement his pro-growth economic policies. 
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However, there is a downside to Cohn.  For example:
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There’s the Goldman connection.  Critics have ripped into Trump for perpetuating the “Government Sachs” culture in Washington where so many of the firm’s principals have found their way into high levels of government.
“It remains unclear though, especially this many months in advance of Yellen’s term ending, as to whether there will be sufficient support for Cohn for this role within the West Wing at that time and whether he could even get confirmed given his lack of conservative credentials and academic background, not to mention his prominent ties to Goldman Sachs,” Beacon said in its note.
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