U.S. Politics
Gina Raimondo: Wall Street’s Corporate Democrat?
Gina Raimondo (D) is a lawyer, former Rhode Island governor, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021.
Raimondo entered politics in 2010 when she successfully ran for the position of general treasurer of Rhode Island. During her first year as general treasurer, Raimondo prioritized reforming Rhode Island’s public employee pension system.
When she was the state’s treasurer, Raimondo imposed landmark pension reforms that endeared her to the likes of the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board and the Manhattan Institute.
She had been criticized by the left for giving over 14% of state pension fund investments — more than a billion dollars — to hedge funds whose owners actively opposed organized labor.
She also raised eyebrows for investing state funds in her own venture capital firm, and in a firm that was fined by the SEC for making illegal campaign contributions.
Raimondo is best known for pushing through an extremely aggressive pension reform package in 2011. The reforms increased the retirement age from 62 to 67, which outraged many.
In 2014, she was elected governor in a three-way contest with 40.8% of the RI vote. In…
