Jessica Riedl 

Jessica Riedl (formerly Brian Riedl) is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, focusing on budget, tax, and economic policy. Previously, she worked as Chief Economist to Ohio Senator Rob Portman and as Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. Before that, Riedl spent a decade as the Heritage Foundation’s lead research fellow on federal budget and spending policy.

She also served as a director of budget and spending policy for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign and was the lead architect of the 10-year deficit-reduction plan for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Riedl has published nearly 600 studies and articles on federal spending, taxes, deficits, and economic policy, and has assisted in the writing of several New York Times best-selling books. She often testifies before Congress, works directly with congressional leaders, and briefs presidential candidates.

Riedl’s op-eds are regularly published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Post, CNN.com, Vox, The Daily Beast, The Dispatch, and other publications. Her economic policy expertise is also cited in top national newspapers and magazines.

Washingtonian Magazine named Riedl one of the 500 most influential policy professionals in Washington, D.C.—including most influential within economic policy—in 2022, 2023, and 2024.