1.12.21
Former Chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Janet Yellen’s, confirmation hearing as Treasury Secretary is planned for January 19. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yellen is expected to be easily confirmed in front of the Senate Finance Committee with some GOP senators having already indicated their support of her nomination. If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen, 74, will be the first woman and the oldest to serve as Treasury Secretary in recent history.
As Treasury Secretary, Yellen will focus on “extraordinary fiscal support” to help the economy, specifically citing deficit spending that is affordable given extremely low interest rates. She will also handle the fate of the Fed’s pandemic lending programs after outgoing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin ordered untapped government funds to be returned. The Wall Street Journal indicated that Yellen may try to extend or redesign the programs since many of the funds were not used.