Know a Nominee: Janet Yellen to Be Treasury Secretary

UPDATE 1/25/21

• The Senate voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary. Once she's sworn in and begins her official duties, she will be the first female Treasury Secretary.

The Senate is expected to vote in the near future on the confirmation of Janet Yellen to serve as Secretary of Treasury. Here’s what you need to know about the nominee.

Who is Janet Yellen?

• Yellen, 74, was the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve, a role she served in from 2014 to 2018 after she spent four years as the vice chair of the Fed’s Board of Governors during her second stint at the Fed.
• Yellen also served as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors for two and a half years in the 1990s until she was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first female chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.
• If confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to lead the Treasury Dept., and would also have the distinction of becoming the first person to have served as Secretary of the Treasury, chair the Fed’s Board of Governors, and chair the Council of Economic Advisers.

What’s the outlook for her nomination?

• The Senate Finance Committee advanced Yellen’s nomination on a bipartisan vote of 26-0. She will likely receive bipartisan support when her nomination is considered by the full Senate.
• Yellen received some bipartisan support when she was confirmed as Fed chair in 2014 with unanimous support from Democrats and several Republican votes, including from Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

What does it mean for the Treasury Dept.?

• The Dept. of the Treasury and its sub-agencies collect federal taxes, pay bills, manage the currency, government accounts, and the public debt. The Treasury also enforces financial and tax laws.
• If confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to lead the Treasury Dept.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Yellen: federalreserve via Flickr / Public Domain | Dollar: Wikimedia / Public Domain)