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Above all, the president-elect wants to take leadership positions with trusted and well-known advisers and avoid shocking surprises, several Biden transition advisers have said. The whole theme of the transition is one of calm and predictability, offering a strong counterpoint to the mad rush of the past four years.
“They felt, from the start, that it made sense,” said a former Democratic official familiar with the proceedings. “I think they’ve had this in mind for a while.”
Additionally, senior outside economic advisers for Biden’s transition told POLITICO that Biden loves and respects Yellen, is confident she will gain broad support within the Democratic coalition, and that it will be difficult, if not impossible. , for Republicans to oppose if they held a majority in the Senate at the next Congress. .
Even Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was hoping to land the Treasury secretary position herself, privately told Biden’s camp that she strongly supports Yellen’s choice, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
Yellen’s commitment to boosting labor markets and his deep knowledge of monetary policy and the role the Fed can play in stimulating the economy were also strengths, as was his support for a carbon tax, said people familiar with the proceedings.
The calculation also involved the other main contenders. Brainard was widely regarded as the frontrunner as the election approached. But Biden’s team was keen to keep her at the Federal Reserve in order to keep a reliable Democratic voice at the central bank, the former official said.
Brainard is also set to take over the regulatory portfolio from the Fed if the Trump-appointed person who is currently in charge, Randal Quarles, leaves at the end of his term in October, depending on how seniority works in internal Fed committees – so it would be natural to keep it there. guarantee against Republicans blocking a new supervisory vice president. It also leaves her in line to potentially lead the Fed in 2022, when Jerome Powell’s tenure comes to an end.
The former undersecretary of the treasury never heard of Biden’s team after the election. Just before news of Yellen’s choice leaked, Biden’s allies – not the president-elect or his team – told Brainard directly that she wouldn’t get the job because they needed her in the process. Fed.
Ferguson, one of the country’s foremost black economists, was another top contender for the job. Ferguson announced in mid-November that he planned to retire in March from his role as chairman and CEO of investment manager TIAA, fueling speculation he was heading for the top spot in the Treasury.
Several people familiar with the deliberations have confirmed Ferguson was in the mix for the role, and he too is said to have made history as the first African-American to run the agency. But he was seen as someone who could arouse the ire of progressives, two people said, and Yellen was the safer and easier choice.
Progressives, many of whom had lobbied for Warren and against others, including Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, were widely encouraged by Monday’s news.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Campaign for Progressive Change committee, said Biden sent the first signal of where he would land as Treasury secretary and other appointments when he picked Ron Klain, that the democratic left likes, as chief of staff. The president-elect, Green said, “seizes the opportunity to find a consensus choice.”
“Again with Janet Yellen, this really sends a signal that he sees progressives as a collaborative partner,” he said.
Yellen fits nicely into the list of staff hires Biden has made as he works to build an administration filled with well-respected veterans who have led a government before – many of whom, like her, will enter the world. history.
If confirmed by the Senate next year, Yellen will not do that becoming the first woman to head the Treasury Department, but also the first person to head the Treasury, the Fed and the Council of Economic Advisers.
Tyler Pager, Alex Thompson and Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
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