US facing historic crises again, says Treasury Secretary-nominee Janet Yellen

Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks at a press conference in Washington on December 13, 2017.

Yellen, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, after breaking ground as the first woman to chair the Fed.

Mr Sterling, visibly angry at a brief press conference on Tuesday, directed some of his remarks squarely at fellow-Republican Mr Trump, who continues to make false claims that he won the 3 November election against Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and that the voting was marred by widespread fraud.

"She was raised by a single mom on food stamps, an immigrant from India who struggled, worked hard, and did everything she could for her daughter to live out her American dream".

Rouse now serves as dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. But she will likely be tested in her ability to work with a possibly divided Congress in passing stimulus bills and other economic measures.

"I am focused on the task ahead", Rouse wrote on Twitter after her nomination was made public. "The planning for a fairer economy, grounded in facts and evidence, begins now".

Biden named two other economists - Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey - as members of the Economic Council.

"Right now, the full Congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief to address these urgent needs", Biden said as he presented his incoming administration's economic team. And he previously served as executive director for President Barack Obama's White House task force on the middle class and was an adviser to Obama.

Biden is set to announce his economic advisers at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Tanden's career has focused on pursuing policies created to support working families, foster broad-based economic growth, and curb inequality.

"We have an opportunity to rethink how we invest in people, and we need to seize it as we rebuild our economy", Boushey tweeted Monday.

Biden has already announced key members of his foreign policy and national security teams as well as his White House communications team, which also include women and people of color. The transition team said it was a historic first that all the positions will be filled by women.

Neera Tanden, who now serves as president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank based in Washington, has been nominated as director of the Office of Management and Budget. If confirmed, she would be its first South Asian head.

The incoming administration also tapped Wally Adeyemo as deputy treasury secretary. If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first African-American Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.

"I believe so strongly that our government is meant to serve all the American people - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike, all of whom deserve to know that their government has their back", she said.

Adeyemo would bring global economic experience to the Biden team, complementing Yellen's more domestic focus over the course of her academic and government career.