Washington: US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday named Janet Yellen as his Treasury Secretary and Indian-American Neera Tanden as Director of Office of Management and Budget, as he announced key members of his economic team. If confirmed by the US Senate, Yellen, 74, will be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department in its 231-year history.
If confirmed by the United States Senate, Tanden (50) would be the first woman of color to head the influential Office of Management and Budget at the White House. Tanden is currently chief executive of the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
Simultaneously, the newly elected US President Joe Biden has announced his inaugural committee which will look into the arrangements related to the swearing-in ceremony. Biden and newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris will take oath of office on January 20 next year.
Biden has named Delaware State University president Tony Allen to serve as CEO of his presidential inaugural committee and campaign chief operating officer Maju Varghese as the group’s executive director.
The format of those events is up in the air amid the global coronavirus pandemic, which has surged across the country.
In a statement Monday, the inaugural committee said it will work on “prioritising keeping people safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 while engaging all Americans” in the festivities.