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President-elect Joe Biden on Monday named former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as his candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, and appointed three women to other top economic positions, setting the stage for a more diverse White House.
While Biden’s transition to the presidency on Jan. 20 appeared to be moving forward, he himself was limping after fracturing his foot while playing with his dog on Saturday and will wear a protective boot for several weeks, his doctors said.
The incoming administration has been hampered for weeks by Republican President Donald Trump, who has refused to give in to Biden, a Democrat. Trump has said, without providing evidence, that the Nov. 3 vote was fraudulent, claims that state and federal election officials have dismissed.
Biden named the main members of an economic team that will have to combat the devastating blows to workers and companies from the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 266,000 people in the United States in nine months.
Unlike Trump, who largely elected white men to key positions, Biden’s early appointments were shaping up to be vastly diverse, including an all-female senior communications team that unveiled Sunday night. He appointed campaign spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield as White House communications director and veteran Democratic spokesperson Jen Psaki as press secretary.
“This team resembles the United States and has serious purpose, the highest degree of competition, and unwavering faith in America’s promise,” Biden said in a statement. “They will be ready the first day to go to work for all Americans.”
Biden was expected to formally introduce the new members of the economic team on Tuesday, the transition team said.
Yellen, 74, chaired the U.S. central bank from 2014 to 2018 and served as chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers.
On Twitter, after Biden announced his nomination, Yellen underscored the challenges America faces. “To recover, we must restore the American dream, a society where each person can develop their potential and dream even bigger for their children. As Secretary of the Treasury, I will work every day to rebuild that dream for everyone.”
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