Biden approaches the White House and chooses his top economic advisers, and Arizona and Wisconsin endorse his victory
US President-elect Joe Biden has chosen a number of women to join his economic policy team, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, to set the stage for diversity and focus on recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Senate approval is required to appoint a number of these advisors from liberal think tanks who have previously worked with democratic administrations.
Their goal will be to develop policies that can help individuals and institutions recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 267,000 people in the United States and made millions lose their jobs.
Biden said in a statement, “The team is similar to America and has a seriousness in achieving the goal, the highest degree of competence and a doctrine that does not deviate from America’s horizons… The team will be ready from the first day to work for all Americans”.
The transition team expected Biden to formally introduce members of his new economic team on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the states of Arizona and Wisconsin endorsed Biden on Monday, which further undermines President Donald Trump’s attempts to rebut his loss to Biden in the November 3 election by making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
Confirming the results of the count is only a matter of formality to formalize, but it has gained special significance this year due to Trump’s allegations of “tampering” in Biden’s favor.
Most of the crucial states that Biden won, including Pennsylvania and Georgia, have already certified their results.
In addition to the results of states in which the outcome is not contested, Biden secured enough votes in the electoral college for him to win the presidency.
Yellen, 74, chaired the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank) from 2014 to 2018 and chaired the Council of Economic Advisers in President Bill Clinton’s administration.
And on Twitter, she highlighted the challenges facing the United States: “To recover, we must reclaim the American dream – a society in which everyone can work according to their potential and in which their dreams accommodate their children.
As Treasury Secretary, I will work every day to rebuild that dream for everyone”.
Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the confirmation hearing for Yellen’s appointment should take place before Biden formally takes office on Jan.20, as has happened with Stephen Mnuchin, the current Treasury secretary.
“When millions of workers are unemployed without their fault and sectors of the economy are struggling hard, there is no reason to delay,” Wyden said in a statement.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, who has not yet recognized Biden as the president-elect, like many House Republicans, has yet to answer questions about holding sessions before the January 20 inauguration.
Colleagues indicated that Biden nominees may go a difficult path to be approved.
Biden said he would nominate Wally Adeyemo as a deputy to the Treasury.
Adeyemo was deputy national security advisor under President Barack Obama and then took over the presidency of the Obama Foundation, which oversees planning for the library of the former Democratic president.
Nira Tanden, Executive Director of the Center for American Progress for Research, has been nominated to head the Office of Management and Budget.
Tanden helped the Obama administration put together the Obama Care healthcare program that Republicans have sought to set aside.
Tanden will be the first woman of color to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if her appointment is approved.
Biden chose Cecilia Rouse, an economist who runs the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, to chair the Council of Economic Advisers.
She was a member of the board under Obama from 2009 to 2011.
Joining the council will be Heather Bushey, an economist who co-founded the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and focuses her work on economic disparities.
