Washington: Eminent economist Janet Yellen has been confirmed by the US Senate as the first-ever woman treasury secretary of the country, to spearhead the new Biden administration’s response to revive the economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, was overwhelmingly backed by the Senate on a 84-15 bipartisan vote on Monday, becoming the third member of Joe Biden’s Cabinet to win confirmation since he was sworn in as the 46th US President on January 20.
Yellen, 74, who headed the US central bank from 2014 to 2018, earlier won bipartisan support from members of the Senate Finance Committee.
Her confirmation comes 232 years after Alexander Hamilton took office as the nation’s first Treasury secretary.
She will be responsible for guiding the Biden administration’s economic response to the raging pandemic. The US, the world’s largest economy, is struggling to rebound economically from the hit caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
