Janet Yellen was confirmed as the first woman to become the chairman of the Federal Reserve on Monday in a 56-26 vote, the Associated Press reported.
Yellen will replace Ben Bernanke who has been the chairman for eight years and aided in lowering short term interests rates and boosting the economy with the purchases of multiple bonds, which Yellen has supported and is expected to continue, the AP reported.
Serving as vice chairman since 2010, Yellen has focused on lowering unemployment and is expected by economist to continue growing the economy but without "putting it into overdrive," according to the AP.
Many could not make it to the vote due to cancelled flights but 45 Democrats and 11 Republicans voted "yes" and 26 Republicans voted "no," according to the AP.
"The big debate will be when the Fed should tighten and how much, rather than when to step on the gas pedal and how hard," Bill Cheney, chief economist for John Hancock Financial Services, told the AP.
A Brooklyn native, Yellen was of the first to speak out about the housing bubble which exploded in 2007, Sen. Sherrod Brown from Ohio said , recognizing her knowledge on creating a safe growing economy.
"She understands how risky financial practices deep inside the largest Wall Street banks can have a terrible and terrifying impact on American families," Brown said, the AP reported.
Others, like Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Yellen is too quick to support the Federal Reserve's "easy money" plans which include the buying of huge bonds to boost money into the economy, the AP reported.
"No one can deny that the risks are real and could be devastating" if those policies continue for too long, Grassley told the AP.
GOP critics due to the money flowing into the economy by the bond purchases, stock and real estate prices have been inflated and could cause a housing bubble like the one Yellen tried to warn the government about, the AP reported.
Yellen was nominated by President Barack Obama in October, calling her a "proven leader" adding that "she understands the human cost when people can't find a job," the AP reported.
The newly appointed chair will sit in on her first Fed meeting on March 18 and is the first Fed chair nominated by a Democratic president his President Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker, according to the AP.
