BlackRock’s Rick Rieder bid for Fed chair is gaining traction

[WASHINGTON] The candidacy of BlackRock’s Rick Rieder to be the next Federal Reserve chair has gained late momentum, people familiar with the matter say, as President Donald Trump weighs congressional blowback in his bid to put a friendlier face at the head of the central bank.

Trump’s interview on Jan 15 with Rieder went well, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.

Key senators such as Republican Banking Committee member Thom Tillis have warned that Trump’s Fed picks will get more scrutiny after the Justice Department subpoenaed the Fed last week over statements by chair Jerome Powell related to a renovation project at the bank’s headquarters. But Powell, whose term expires in May, contends the criminal probe is a pretext to punish him for not cutting rates quickly enough.

Trump, asked on Friday (Jan 16) about the selection process, said he had a candidate in mind, while declining to name him. “I think I have it – in my mind, done,” he said.

The search is now a four-man race, some of the people said, among Rieder, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, Fed governor Christopher Waller and former governor Kevin Warsh, the people said.

Hassett was an early frontrunner and continued to be until Trump said this week he may not want to lose Hassett from his current role. It’s not clear if it was a signal of a shifting internal deliberation, or an offhand remark.

“Nobody knows who President Trump will choose for the Fed, except President Trump himself. As the president recently said, he will announce his final decision soon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement Saturday.

The decision to subpoena the Fed a week ago sparked a wave of backlash, including a pledge by Tillis – who sits on the committee that would first consider a nominee – to oppose any Fed nomination until the matter is resolved.

Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, is viewed as potentially easier to confirm, some of the people said. A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment on Rieder’s status.

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Hiring data released earlier this month suggested the labour market remained fragile at the end of the year, and the outlook for hiring is guarded. Economists see another year of limited job opportunities and cooling pay gains, likely exacerbating voters’ affordability concerns going into this year’s midterm elections.

Fed officials cut rates three consecutive times at the end of 2025, but have signalled they are in no rush to lower them again until they see more data on inflation and the labour market. Policymakers are expected to hold rates steady at their next meeting on Jan 27-28.

Rieder has called the Fed’s independence “critical,” but has also echoed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in saying the central bank could be more “innovative” in how it uses its balance sheet. BLOOMBERG