Kathy Ruemmler Confidential & A Netflix Nightmare

Kathy Ruemmler
Kathy Ruemmler realized she was becoming a distraction, and would have to do what she needed to do to stop the tornadic activity around her. She said it was clear the press was going to remain focused on her, to the detriment of Goldman, until she agreed to resign. Photo: William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
William D. Cohan
February 15, 2026

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Wall Street remains confounded by the stunning turn of events in the saga of Kathy Ruemmler, the former Obama chief White House counsel and current Goldman Sachs general counsel, who submitted her resignation at the end of the day on Thursday. Of course, this was a complete reversal from the signals of support that Goldman had been sending to the market. Not only was Ruemmler at the recent partner meeting in Florida, but she entered the Miami venue alongside C.E.O. David Solomon. In fact, Ruemmler told me this morning that she’d started this past week determined to fight the mob, referring to the media circus surrounding her professional dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, who’d helped source deals for her during her rainmaking stint at Latham & Watkins. She was resolute.