After months of wondering, we finally have confirmation: Janet Yellen is the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Her first day is February 1, after Ben Bernanke completes his term this month.
Votes were 56 to 26 in her favor on Monday, though many senators were absent because of the poor weather in Washington. Those pro-Yellen votes include 11 Republicans. The no votes were all Republican.
This confirmation means Yellen is the first woman at the top leadership position of the Fed in its 100 years.
Yellen has worked more than a decade at the Fed, most recently as Fed vice chair. In that role, she spoke in favor of the bond-buying program (also known as “quantitative easing”) so we can expect more of the same from her in the coming months.
She is expected to look for ways to stimulate the economy while trying to avoid inflation. She has also expressed concern regarding the unemployment rate.
Her first meeting is scheduled for March 18 to 19. We’ll eagerly wait to see what she has to say then.
What do you think of Yellen’s confirmation?
Leave us a comment below, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter today.
Leave a Reply