US President-elect Biden elects former Fed President Yellen as the first female US CFO
Elected President Joe Biden will nominate former Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen as head of the US Treasury, an election that, if confirmed by the Senate, would make her the first woman in office.
The 74-year-old, whose nomination was confirmed to AFP by a financial source close to the Biden administration, would be tasked with managing the world’s largest economy as it struggles with mass layoffs and a sharp slowdown in growth caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Yellen will be the next secretary of state” and she could be formally announced as early as Tuesday, the source said, confirming news first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Yellen’s candidacy was supported by left-wing members of Biden’s Democratic Party, according to the source, and demands confirmation from the Senate.
Yellen broke obstacles when former President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as Fed chairman in 2014, a position that President Donald Trump fired her from four years later.
At the Fed, Yellen was seen as a “pigeon” inclined to low interest rates to support employment.
She would succeed Steven Mnuchin and is likely to face a month-long break in Congress due to the introduction of a new bill for the US economy – provided lawmakers do not act before Biden’s inauguration in January.
Grant Thornton’s chief economist Diane Swonk called Yellen “a very talented and talented economist” on Twitter.
“She will be a great secretary of state at a critical time and write another chapter in the history books,” she said.
“Significant” expenses ”
The United States is home to the world’s largest Covid-19 outbreak, and when the economy troubled Congress in March to implement the $ 2.2 trillion CARES law that increased unemployment benefits, supported small businesses and distributed money to hard-hit airlines to retain its staff.
However, these regulations ceased to apply during the summer, leading to 32,000 landings among the major airlines alone and arousing fears of a renewed economic downturn.
Congress has stuck to providing more help, with Democrats supporting an additional $ 2.2 trillion but Republicans insisting on a series of smaller bills.
Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets, called Yellen a “friend of the markets” to support further spending that would increase the stock, and note her confirmation would mean that technocrats return to the executive branch.
“After four years of political appointments, we have appointments of professionals, not only political professionals but also professionals in their professions,” he said.
Currently a prominent colleague at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Yellen has signaled his support for more spending.
“Fiscal policy has a very important role to play now,” she said in a statement this month. “I think it’s important.”
Biden, who served as vice president under Obama and defeated Trump in the Nov. 3 election, has moved quickly to fill key seats in his incoming cabinet.
Earlier Monday, he announced a number of appointments to key national security roles, including former Obama official Antony Blinken as secretary of state.
Dow closed up 1.1 percent after news of the Yellen nomination and another positive announcement about a Covid-19 vaccine.
(AFP)
