Washington, Jan 27 (Agency) Janet Yellen was on Tuesday confirmed by the US Senate as the country’s 78th Treasury secretary making her the first woman to be appointed to the position.
The 74-year-ole Yellen takes charge at a time when the US economy has been severely impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Senate approved Yellen in an 84-15 vote and she will be sworn in later in the evening by a Treasury official. Yellen has become only the second American to have been both Federal Reserve chair and Treasury secretary. Yellen had left the central bank in early 2018 after overseeing a winding back of monetary stimulus after the last recession and its slow recovery. Now, she’s back in crisis-fighting mode, this time as a Democratic administration’s top economic official. Yellen’s top priority will be to stoke a recovery that’s weakened amid record COVID-19 deaths, by helping sell the Biden stimulus plan worth $1.9 trillion that is being resisted by GOP lawmakers.
She will also help to shape policy toward China after the Trump administration’s legacy of confrontation and tariff hikes. Other objectives include addressing the economic risks of climate change, with plans to set up a “hub” at the Treasury looking at the issue. She will also be responsible for tax policy, sanctions, the administration’s stance on the dollar, financing the government and ensuring the stability of the financial system.