Finance Committee Advances Treasury Nominee to Full Senate

Washington – The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), today unanimously reported for consideration to the full Senate the nomination of Dr. Janet Yellen to the secretary of the Treasury.

 

“I will vote yes on Dr. Yellen’s nomination given her qualifications and belief that a President is entitled to pick his own cabinet members, as long as they are qualified and reasonable. That is not to say, however, that I do not have concerns. I do not support some of what I believe will be Dr. Yellen’s political agenda, but do hope that she maintains a view that she needs to work with Members of this Committee on both sides of the aisle in developing policies,” Grassley said during today’s committee meeting.

 

“It should also be noted that, in considering Dr. Yellen’s nomination, we have not organized any resistance campaign, vote boycott, or personalized attacks on her character. We have not created any false claims or unfounded accusations about her. Unfortunately, I cannot say that like treatment was afforded to all nominees of the prior administration. I hope that President Biden realizes that the treatment of Dr. Yellen’s nomination in this Committee signals interest by me and my Republican colleagues in working cooperatively and in a bipartisan way. We want to work on policy issues to help all Americans, and are not interested in cancerous culture wars that serve only to divide the country,” Grassley continued.

 

In 2017, Senate Democrats boycotted the Finance Committee’s consideration of President Trump’s nominee to the same post.

 

Grassley’s full remarks at today’s meeting follow:

 

Today, we are meeting in executive session to consider the nomination of the Honorable Janet Yellen to be Secretary of the Treasury.

 

I and my Republican colleagues have acted to process Dr. Yellen’s nomination in Committee expeditiously. We’ve done that in the interest of bipartisanship and to help ensure that the President’s cabinet can get up and running to help respond to the needs of the American people in the midst of a pandemic.

 

I will vote yes on Dr. Yellen’s nomination given her qualifications and belief that a President is entitled to pick his own cabinet members, as long as they are qualified and reasonable. That is not to say, however, that I do not have concerns. I do not support some of what I believe will be Dr. Yellen’s political agenda, but do hope that she maintains a view that she needs to work with Members of this Committee on both sides of the aisle in developing policies.

 

I also believe that Dr. Yellen was not entirely responsive to some of the questions we asked of her following her hearing on Tuesday.  We will continue to ask questions, and I continue to expect timely and thorough responses.

 

If confirmed as Treasury Secretary, Dr. Yellen will serve as part of the Biden administration. It will be important for her to keep in mind, though, that she will be serving interests of all Americans, and not simply those with a liberal agenda.

 

It should also be noted that, in considering Dr. Yellen’s nomination, we have not organized any resistance campaign, vote boycott, or personalized attacks on her character. We have not created any false claims or unfounded accusations about her. Unfortunately, I cannot say that like treatment was afforded to all nominees of the prior administration. I hope that President Biden realizes that the treatment of Dr. Yellen’s nomination in this Committee signals interest by me and my Republican colleagues in working cooperatively and in a bipartisan way. We want to work on policy issues to help all Americans, and are not interested in cancerous culture wars that serve only to divide the country.

 

If confirmed, Dr. Yellen will be the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary in the nation’s history, which is a welcome development. And, if confirmed, I look forward to begin working together with her for all Americans.

 

In closing, I congratulate Dr. Yellen on her nomination, which I intend to support.