Janet Yellen, the candidate for President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, as Secretary of the Treasury, speaks as Biden announces candidates and nominees to be part of his economic policy team at its transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, USA on December 1, 2020.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Janet Yellen’s historic step at the helm of the Treasury Department took a key step forward Friday morning after she easily passed a major Senate vote.
Along with the set of experiences she brings, the appointment would make Yellen the first woman to hold the position. She was previously the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve.
The Senate Finance Committee on Friday approved President Joe Biden’s decision to appoint Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury, sending the candidacy by a 26-0 vote.
“We are proud to now have the first woman to be Secretary of the United States Treasury,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell of D-Wash. “I really hope I can lead a new day at Treasury to focus on the Main Street issues of the workforce, the training of the workforce and the important aspects to get the US economy back and forth to people at work “
Yellen still has confirmation from the entire Senate. Evidence indicates that Yellen’s name will be moved to the Senate flat before business closes Friday.
The committee’s vote came with little debate or disagreement, similar to its confirmation hearing earlier in the week. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, said Yellen is “effectively an NBA All-Star when it comes to clarifying the Senate nomination process.”
In fact, Yellen also navigated the process when she was twice appointed to the Fed’s Governing Board. Yellen was also the first woman to chair former President Bill Clinton’s Board of Economic Advisers.
Emphasis on bipartisanship
Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley in R-Iowa said the quick follow-up to Yellen’s appointment was part of a Republican effort to tame some of the partisan resentment that permeated Washington during former President Donald’s term. Trump.
“Unfortunately, I cannot say that the same treatment was given to all candidates from the previous administration,” Grassley said. He added that the treatment of Yellen’s nomination “points to my interest and I know all my Republican colleagues to work cooperatively and bipartisanly … We are not interested in cancerous cultural wars that only serve to divide the nation.”
Should it get confirmation, it would put it in a critical position to execute the economic agenda of the democratic administration.
The new president is already locked in a conflict in Congress over his proposed $ 1.9 trillion spending plan. Approval can take up to several weeks and Biden is unlikely to get the full price.
Part of Yellen’s job will be to bring the proposal through Congress, where he is likely to face substantial resistance.
“I have very strong disagreements with Dr. Yellen on several of her positions, especially in the areas of fiscal policy,” said Sen. Mike Crapo of R-Idaho. “But she has committed herself to us working with us on these issues and the concerns we have, and I think the strong vote on our side to support her today is an indication that we want to get involved.”