Assuming he is certified the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden is almost certain to name the first woman secretary of the treasury and is likely to do so by, or soon after, Thanksgiving.
At this point, betting in official Washington, D.C., is strong that he will turn to Lael Brainard — economist, under secretary of the treasury for international affairs under President Barack Obama, and currently a Federal Reserve Board governor.
Sources close to the former vice president say he very much wants to make history and name a woman to the Cabinet position first held by Alexander Hamilton when it was created under George Washington in 1789.
Brainard, 58, served on President Bill Clinton’s White House staff and has worked at the highly influential McKinsey & Company advising corporate clients. She has also been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, long considered the "ammunition depot" for staffing Democrat administrations.
There is still strong speculation that former Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen is "in the mix" for the treasury portfolio. Biden reportedly has strong admiration for Yellen and was disappointed when President Donald Trump passed her over for another stint as Fed chair.
But at 74, Yellen-watchers wonder, does she really want to get back "in the mix" in a Biden administration?
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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