BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, a possible frontrunner to be the next Fed chair, has given campaign contributions to President Trump’s fiercest rivals and Democratic heavyweights, federal records show.
Rieder is on the shortlist for the Fed chair job, along with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and ex-Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
The BlackRock exec shoveled thousands of dollars to Trump-bashing GOP rivals such as 2024 presidential challenger Nikki Haley and 2016 flop Jeb Bush. He also donated to former Sen. Mitt Romney and ex-House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republicans who both left politics as Trump ascended.
Rieder’s biggest single contribution since the 2020 election was $15,825 to a Haley-aligned group, Federal Election Commission figures show.
He also gave $22,000 to New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and $2,800 to a PAC aligned with former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FEC data showed.
The contributions were first reported by Bloomberg News.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been tasked with drumming up the shortlist of qualified people to take over from Chair Jerome Powell, who has drawn frequent broadsides from Trump for failing to slash interest rates quickly enough.
Powell, appointed in 2018 under the previous Trump administration, is being investigated by the Justice Department over a $2.5 billion refit of the Fed’s Washington, DC, headquarters, as first reported by The Post.
Wall Street titans such as Jamie Dimon have warned that the DOJ probe could be seen by investors as a threat to the Federal Reserve’s independence.
Rieder, the 64-year-old chief investment officer for global fixed income at BlackRock, has been vocal about the need to cut rates.
He laid out his dovish stance during a CNBC interview on the key borrowing rate that impacts how much Americans repay on home loans and credit cards each month.
“I think the Fed’s got to get the rate down. The Fed’s got to get the rate down to 3%. I think that’s closer to equilibrium,” he told the business news network on Jan. 12.
Evercore analysts also wrote in a note on Sunday that the Wall Street executive “would be dovish on rates and likely press for three cuts this year.”
Rieder’s name is currently leading on the betting prediction market Kalshi, with bettors putting a 39% probability on him becoming Fed leader.
Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh has a 29% chance of becoming Fed chair, according to the platform, while current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who is viewed very favorably by many market participants, has a 15% chance of getting the job.
Trump has appeared to rule out one of Rieder’s major rivals, Kevin Hassett, for the job as America’s central banker.
“I will tell you that’s working for a big deficit because I don’t want to lose him,” the 79-year-old former real estate mogul said Wednesday. “He’s so good.”
Rieder’s meteoric rise to become Fed frontrunner has left some Wall Street insiders puzzled, given his previous support for left-wing ESG policies such as DEI and Net Zero.
“It’s quite curious given BlackRock’s well-documented support for ‘woke capital’ initiatives fiercely opposed by the president and his allies,” one person close to the situation said.
But one administration insider familiar with Trump’s thinking told The Post: “It doesn’t matter what anybody says one way or the other. The president is going to make the decision.”
The White House has refused to contribute to the guessing game on the next Fed chair.
“President Trump will make an announcement about his pick for the Federal Reserve at the appropriate juncture. Any and all reporting on the Federal Reserve Chairman nominations process until then is a waste of everyone’s time,” spokesman Kush Desai told The Post.
The Post has sought comment from Rieder and BlackRock.
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