President Obama to nominate Janet Yellen to replace Ben Bernanke
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
WASHINGTON --
President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve vice chair Janet
Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the nation's central bank,
the White House said Tuesday. Yellen would be the first woman to head
the powerful Fed, taking over at a pivotal time for the economy and the
banking industry.
Both Yellen and Bernanke are scheduled to appear with Obama at the White House on Wednesday for a formal announcement.
Bernanke's term ends in January, completing a remarkable eight-year tenure in which he helped pull the U.S. economy out of the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930s.
Under Bernanke's leadership, the Fed created extraordinary programs after the financial crisis erupted in 2008. It lent money to banks after credit markets froze, cut its key short-term interest rate to near zero and bought trillions in bonds to lower long-term borrowing rates.
Those programs are credited with helping save the U.S. banking system.
Yellen emerged as the leading candidate after Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary whom Obama was thought to favor, withdrew from consideration last month in the face of rising opposition.
Yellen, 67, would likely continue steering Fed policy in the same direction as Bernanke. A close ally of the chairman, she has been a key architect of the Fed's efforts under Bernanke to keep interest rates near record lows to support the economy.
As vice chair since 2010, Yellen has helped manage both the Fed's traditional tool of short-term rates and the unconventional programs it launched to help sustain the economy after the financial crisis erupted in 2008. These include the Fed's monthly bond purchases and its guidance to investors about the likely direction of rates.
(Copyright ©2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=9280049
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President Barack Obama will announce the nomination Janet Yellen to be
the next chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, a White House
official said.
Assuming she is confirmed (which should be easy) the post will make Yellen the most powerful woman in American history, as the Fed has tremendous independence and influence on the US and world economies.
Obama will announce her nomination Wednesday at 3 p.m. during an event in the East Room of the White House, the official said.
Yellen, the current Fed vice chair, would succeed Ben Bernanke, who will appear at the White House event on Wednesday. If she is confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first female chair of the Fed.
Yellen's nomination would finish off months of public speculation that centered on whether Obama would nominate Yellen or Larry Summers, a former economic adviser with whom Obama is close.
In mid-September, after facing resistance from liberal Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, Summers withdrew his candidacy, citing the expectation of a potential "acrimonious" confirmation process.
Yellen's nomination comes in the face of fiscal battles in Washington.
On Wednesday, the federal government shutdown entered into its eighth full day on Tuesday, with no immediate end in sight. And Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 17 — nine days away — to avoid a potential default.
Yellen has been second-in-command at the Fed since 2010. Senators immediately said they expected her to be confirmed without drama.
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White House IT'S OFFICIAL: Obama Will Nominate Janet Yellen For Fed Chair Tomorrow — Set To Become Most Powerful Woman In American History
President Barack Obama will announce the nomination Janet Yellen to be
the next chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, a White House
official said.Assuming she is confirmed (which should be easy) the post will make Yellen the most powerful woman in American history, as the Fed has tremendous independence and influence on the US and world economies.
Obama will announce her nomination Wednesday at 3 p.m. during an event in the East Room of the White House, the official said.
Yellen, the current Fed vice chair, would succeed Ben Bernanke, who will appear at the White House event on Wednesday. If she is confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first female chair of the Fed.
Yellen's nomination would finish off months of public speculation that centered on whether Obama would nominate Yellen or Larry Summers, a former economic adviser with whom Obama is close.
In mid-September, after facing resistance from liberal Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, Summers withdrew his candidacy, citing the expectation of a potential "acrimonious" confirmation process.
Yellen's nomination comes in the face of fiscal battles in Washington.
On Wednesday, the federal government shutdown entered into its eighth full day on Tuesday, with no immediate end in sight. And Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 17 — nine days away — to avoid a potential default.
Yellen has been second-in-command at the Fed since 2010. Senators immediately said they expected her to be confirmed without drama.
"She’s an excellent choice and I believe she’ll be confirmed by a wide margin," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
