Biden tasks women-led economic team with recovery

[NFA] President-elect Joe Biden named several women to his top economic policy team on Monday, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary nominee, setting the stage for diversity and a focus on recovery from the pandemic.

Gavino Garay reports.

President-elect Joe Biden named several women to his top economic policy team on Monday, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary nominee.

Yellen was the first woman to head the U.S. central bank from 2014 to 2018.

She also served as the chair of President Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers.

If confirmed, she will be the first-ever women Treasury secretary.

Democrats are pushing to hold confirmation hearings for Yellen early -- Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the chamber should hold Yellen's confirmation hearing before the Jan.

20 inauguration, as it did for current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who like many top Republicans in that chamber has not yet acknowledged Biden as president-elect, did not respond to questions about pre-inauguration hearings.

Biden has also selected three other economic advisers who are women, several of whom would need to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

They come from liberal research organizations and worked in previous Democratic administrations.

Their aim will be to set policies that can help people and businesses recover from the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic, which has cost millions of jobs.

His pick of Yellen and three other women for his top economic policy team comes just a day after he named an all-women executive communications team.

Biden was expected to formally introduce the new economic team members on Tuesday.

While Republican President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat in the Nov.

3 election to Biden, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were scheduled to receive their first classified presidential daily intelligence briefing on Monday, which the Trump administration had previously refused to provide.

While Biden's transition to the presidency appeared to be hitting its stride, he himself was hobbling after fracturing his foot while playing with his dog over the weekend and will wear a protective boot for several weeks.