First female Fed chair awaits Senate approval

Amidst the squalls currently ripping through the political sea in the nation’s capital, a new figure has been chosen to fill the role of most powerful monetary policy maker on the planet. And, for the first time, it may very well be a woman.

Janet Yellen was nominated by President Barack Obama on Oct. 9 to succeed incumbent Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke when his term ends early next year.

Yellen, a 67-year-old, Ivy League-educated economist, has had her nomination come on the heels of a highly publicized federal government shutdown that has more or less dominated media coverage for two weeks.

Yellen’s rise throughout the inner workings of the U.S. central bank has already resulted in various high-ranking positions, including her current title of Vice-Chair.

General reception toward her nomination has been positive, with many arguing that her democratic economic policy-making and proactive efforts to keep unemployment rates low, will further animate the still-recovering American economy.However, conservative groups like “Americans Principles in Action,” have taken a hard stance against her pending appointment, even going as far as to create a website solely dedicated to preventing her assumption of the role.On the page, the group gives a list of the “Top Ten Reasons to Oppose Janet Yellen” that include the oft-cited labeling of her as a “dove” when it comes to inflation policy, meaning that she prefers in dealing with higher inflation in order to keep interest rates and unemployment low.

Despite this opposition, Yellen is expected to capture the prerequisite 60 senate chamber votes and her new role.

In nominating her, Obama proclaimed that Yellen had “sounded the alarm bell early about the housing market bubble and excesses in the financial markets before the recession.”

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown praised Yellen’s nomination in an official statement, proclaiming that it was “a historic moment for the Federal Reserve, for women everywhere, and for all of us who care about job creation.”

Brown previously spearheaded a letter to president Obama which had called upon him to nominate Yellen. The letter was additionally signed by more than one-third of Senate Democrats.