Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, applauded President-elect Biden’s historic announcement that he will nominate Janet Yellen to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“Janet Yellen will make an exceptional Treasury Secretary who I know will work diligently to tackle this pandemic crisis and ensure that individuals and families receive the economic relief they need. As Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, she provided strong, steady leadership and a keen awareness of the challenges that income and wealth inequality pose for the nation. Janet Yellen helped preside over the longest economic expansion in American history, highlighted the problem of racial economic disparities in her testimony before the Committee, and finalized many important rules that made our financial system safer and better prepared for the unexpected onset of the pandemic earlier this year. With our economy still vulnerable to a surging virus, it is crucial to have someone with Yellen’s experience, wisdom, and attentiveness to a robust and equitable recovery at the helm.

“I applaud President-elect Biden for this outstanding choice. I look forward to Janet Yellen’s quick confirmation as the first woman to serve as the Secretary of the Treasury, and the first person to lead Treasury after leading the Federal Reserve and the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. As the current Treasury Secretary works to sabotage pandemic relief efforts on his way out the door, her arrival is badly needed to right the ship and put the nation on the path to a meaningful recovery.”

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