U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announced on Monday that he will nominate former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to be secretary of the Treasury.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Yellen, who is Jewish, would be the first woman to lead the 231-year-old U.S. Treasury Department.
Yellen was the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, which is America’s central banking system. She served as chairwoman between 2014 and 2018.
Before leading the Federal Reserve, Yellen served as the body’s vice chair from 2010 to 2014, following an earlier term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
In related news, Biden announced the appointment of economist Jared Bernstein, also Jewish, on Monday as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, which advises the president on economic issues.
In a tweet, Bernstein, who was an economic adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, expressed excitement over soon joining the council.
“Thanks for all the support, econ twitter! I’m verklempt! As a CEA member, I’m soooo excited to get to work with my awesome new colleagues in fast pursuit of full employment and a recovery that reaches everyone,” he tweeted, using a Yiddish word that means overcome with emotion.
Thanks for all the support, econ twitter! I'm verklempt! As a CEA member, I'm soooo excited to get to work with my awesome new colleagues in fast pursuit of full employment and a recovery that reaches everyone.
— Jared Bernstein (@econjared) November 30, 2020