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Yellen faces huge obstacles in executing Biden's big economic plan

At some point in the next four years, the pragmatic Treasury secretary may discover that data and facts by themselves are not going to determine the outcome of policy debates.

Published Wed, Jan 27, 2021 · 09:50 PM

    THE 74-year-old economist Dr Janet Yellen has made history this week by becoming the first woman to lead the US Treasury Department, after a bipartisan majority in the Senate confirmed her nomination by an 84-15 vote on Monday.

    Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called her an "NBA All-Star" when it comes to clearing the Senate nomination process, noting she has been previously confirmed four times for economic positions by the Senate.

    "She's 5-foot nothing, but hand to God / She can pop a collar, she can rock a power bob," was how the rapper Dessa described her, in a nod to Dr Yellen's no-nonsense hairstyle and her diminutive stature in a tribute commissioned by the public radio programme Marketplace.

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