The Senate confirmed Janet Yellen to be treasury secretary on Monday in a strong bipartisan 84-15 vote, making Yellen the first woman to lead the Treasury.
There was little doubt of Yellen’s confirmation after she received a unanimous vote from the Senate Finance Committee following her confirmation hearing. Even Republican senators who expressed concerns over some of the Biden administration’s anticipated policies, including raising taxes on corporations, emphasized a need for bipartisan action to address the coronavirus pandemic.
“While Dr. Yellen and I have numerous and significant differences of opinion on economic policy, I have no doubts regarding her integrity or technical expertise,” said Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, a strong proponent of tax cuts.
Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said after her vote that he “look[ed] forward to begin working together with her for all Americans.”
Yellen, 74, was previously the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, appointed by former President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to hold that position. A Brooklyn native, she served on the board of the Reserve during the Clinton administration until she was tapped to lead the White House National Economic Council.
President Biden has pushed for rapidly confirming Cabinet positions so that the administration can get to work on an ambitious first 100-day agenda and a new coronavirus relief package, which as treasury secretary, Yellen would play an important role in executing. The Senate confirmed two of Biden’s Cabinet-level nominees, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, last week, with other confirmations coming down the pike.
Confirming Cabinet nominations took on average 20 days during both Trump’s and Obama’s administrations, according to CNN — though some, like the defense secretary nominations, typically take zero days. Austin’s confirmation was temporarily delayed because the House first had to approve a waiver that would allow him to fill the position before completing the seven-year waiting period required by federal law for retired general officers.
Once confirmed, one of Yellen’s biggest tasks will be to work with Congress to pass Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which top Republicans in the Senate have already declared dead on arrival. Yellen, during her confirmation hearing, stressed that now is the time to “act big,” citing the current low interest rate environment and a need to rectify past economic injustices.
“People worry about a K-shaped recovery, but well before COVID-19 infected a single person … we were living in a K-shaped economy,” Yellen said during her hearing, referring to a situation in which the wealthy prosper while lower-income earners struggle. “Working classes fell farther and farther behind. We have to rebuild our economy so that it creates more prosperity for more people and ensures that American workers can compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.”
“Chair Powell made it clear that the biggest danger lies in not doing enough,” Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said Monday. “Emergency relief should last as long as the emergency.”
