"President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, an economist at the forefront of policy-making for three decades, to become the next Treasury secretary," the Journal said, citing people familiar with the decision.
It added that, if confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would become the first woman to hold the job. Biden’s selection would position the 74-year-old labour economist to lead his administration’s efforts to drive the recovery from the destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Yellen’s pick comes as Biden names various other appointees to his cabinet, which might function after his projected inauguration on January 20.
The presumptive president-elect named Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Jake Sullivan to be national security adviser.
CNBC reported that Blinken, a long-time adviser to Biden, is well known in national security circles, developing a reputation as a pragmatic realist and a strong backer of multilateral institutions.
Sullivan, meanwhile, was a former top aide to Hillary Clinton and also served as a national security adviser to Biden during the Obama administration. He has previously said that effective US foreign policy was rooted in strong democratic institutions at home.
Biden also announced he will nominate former Secretary of State John Kerry as special presidential envoy for climate and place the post within the National Security Council, the first time a high-level envoy for climate has been formally part of the NSC.
The projected president-elect named Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Avril Haines to be the director of national intelligence.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a career officer in the US Foreign Service, is set to be nominated to serve as the United Nations ambassador, a post that might be elevated to Cabinet-level in the Biden administration.
Later, the US dollar index fell slightly to 92.47 after the WSJ reported that Janet Yellen was reportedly selected by Biden for the post of Treasury secretary.