Senate confirms Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary

The Senate on Monday voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as secretary of the Treasury, making her the first woman in U.S. history to ever hold the job.

As Treasury secretary, Yellen, a labor economist and former Federal Reserve chair, will collaborate closely with President Biden as he works on getting Congress to pass his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. If the package is approved, she will also be responsible for ensuring that direct relief payments are distributed to Americans.

During her confirmation hearing, Yellen said Congress must "act big" in order to get the economy going and to ease the suffering of American workers and families hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. "The relief bill late last year was just a down payment to get us through the next few months," Yellen said. "We have a long way to go before our economy fully recovers."

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