Senate Confirms Janet Yellen as First Female Treasury Secretary

The United States Senate voted Monday to confirm Janet Yellen as the nation’s next Secretary of  the Treasury, making her the first woman to hold the position in American history after she was chosen by President Joe Biden last November.

Yellen, a Democrat, was confirmed by the Senate in an 84-15 vote, with all 15 “no” votes stemming from Republicans.

“The bipartisan support for Ms. Yellen’s multiple nominations reflects her breathtaking range of experience and just how well suited she is to manage the economic challenges of our time,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) prior to Yellen’s confirmation on Monday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said prior to Yellen’s confirmation that he believes there will be “no shortage” of conversations with Yellen in the months ahead.

“I expect we will have no shortage of spirited policy discussions with Dr. Yellen in the months ahead, especially if some Democrats keep trying to use this historic emergency as a pretext to push through permanent far-left policy changes,” McConnell said.

“But the simple fact is that when the American people elect a president and when the president selects qualified and mainstream people for key posts, the whole nation deserves for them to be able to assemble their team,” McConnell added.

In late November, Yellen shared a message to social media in which she pledged to “restore the American dream.”

We face great challenges as a country right now. To recover, we must restore the American dream—a society where each person can rise to their potential and dream even bigger for their children.

As Treasury Secretary, I will work every day towards rebuilding that dream for all.

— Janet Yellen (@JanetYellen) November 30, 2020

“We face great challenges as a country right now. To recover, we must restore the American dream—a society where each person can rise to their potential and dream even bigger for their children,” Yellen wrote in a tweet. “As Treasury Secretary, I will work every day towards rebuilding that dream for all.”

Yellen is the third Biden cabinet nominee to be confirmed, following Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.