“Dr. Yellen is a model candidate for chair of the Fed,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) said. “She has devoted a large portion of her professional and academic career to studying the labor market, unemployment, monetary policy and the economy.”
Republicans have used Yellen’s nomination to bash the Fed’s easy money policies, in particular, its program to buy $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds to keep long-term interest rates low.
”The long-term costs of these policies are unclear and frankly worrisome,” said Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the panel’s top Republican. “The immediate benefits are questionable and markets have become far too reliant on monetary stimulus.”
Yellen had been expected to win enough Republican support to get the needed 60 votes, but that issue become moot on Thursday when the Senate voted to change chamber rules so that now only a simple majority will be needed to confirm presidential nominees.
Yellen “understands that the Fed should be playing an active role in supervising and regulating the largest financial institutions, and that the Fed’s supervisory responsibilities are just as important as its monetary policy responsibilities,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
