By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with BlackRock Inc executive Rick Rieder in New York on Friday, as the Trump administration continued its search for a new chair for the Federal Reserve, a source familiar with the matter said.

Bessent has now spoken with four of the 11 candidates on the administration's list of candidates to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, the source said. 

Bloomberg first reported Bessent's meeting with Rieder, BlackRock's CIO of fixed income, and called him a rising contender for the post. The two met for two hours and discussed monetary policy, the Fed's organizational structure and regulatory policy, it said.

U.S. President Donald Trump had told reporters at the White House a week ago that his short list for the job included his aide Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller.

At the time, Trump said he had eyed Bessent for the job, but the Treasury secretary declined.

Bessent has said he will meet with the candidates to whittle down the list and present Trump with a list of top contenders.

TRUMP HAS RAILED AGAINST POWELL

Trump has made clear he intends to install a Fed leader more aligned with his push for rapid interest-rate cuts after months of railing against Powell for being "too late" to lower interest rates and bring down borrowing costs.

Powell's Fed has kept rates on hold all year on concern that Trump's tariffs could reignite inflation, although his concerns have shifted recently to focus more on the slowing labor market.

The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on Monday to confirm White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran to the Fed, which starts a two-day meeting Tuesday at which it is expected to cut its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Miran will retain his White House job, but take an unpaid leave while at the Fed.

Miran would replace Adriana Kugler, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden and resigned as Fed governor last month.

Trump has sought to fire another Fed governor appointed by Biden, Lisa Cook, but that move has been blocked for now by a federal judge.