For the first time in history, a woman will hold America’s purse strings. Janet Yellen was easily confirmed by the Senate Monday as the first female Secretary of the Treasury with an 84-15 vote.
Yellen spoke about bringing a strong economic response to the country’s current crisis, echoing the sentiment behind Biden’s almost $2 trillion relief plan.
At her confirmation hearing before the Finance Committee last week, Yellen had argued that without prompt action, the nation faced the threat of a “longer, more painful recession.”
She urged quick action on the virus relief package that would provide an additional $1,400 in payments to individuals making below $75,000 as well as expanded unemployment benefits, aid for small businesses, and support for local infrastructure to prevent layoffs.
Yellen brings her decades of experience shattering glass ceilings as the head of the Federal Reserve with her to the White House, making clear that her No. 1 priority would be to provide relief for those in the greatest need — especially minority workers and women, who have been hit hardest by the downturn.
“The relief bill late last year was just a down payment to get us through the next few months,” she said. “We have a long way to go before our economy fully recovers.”
Yellen is Biden’s third cabinet nominee to be confirmed.
