The U.S. Senate confirmed Janet Yellen as the 78th Secretary of the Treasury by a vote of 84–15, making her the first female Treasury Secretary in U.S. history.
On January 25, 2021, the United States Senate voted 84–15 to confirm Janet Yellen as the 78th Secretary of the Treasury, making her the first woman ever to hold this position in the department's 232-year history. Her confirmation came just days after President Joe Biden's inauguration, reflecting the urgency of economic policymaking amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Yellen's confirmation was notable not only for its historic gender significance but also for the strong bipartisan support she received, reflecting broad respect for her credentials as former Federal Reserve Chair and a widely respected economist. Her nomination was seen as a signal of continuity and stability during a period of significant economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The Treasury Department, established in 1789, had never before been led by a woman, making this confirmation a landmark moment in American governmental history. Yellen's confirmation was celebrated by women's advocacy organizations and economists alike as a milestone in the long struggle for gender equality in top government positions.
This achievement, occurring just one day before she was formally sworn in, set the stage for her to become the first person in U.S. history to lead all three of the nation's top economic policy institutions: the Council of Economic Advisers, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.