Who among the following has been appointed as first Women Treasury Secretary in United States of America ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Janet Yellen. On 26 January 2021 Janet Yellen was sworn in as the 78th United States Secretary of the Treasury, becoming the FIRST woman to hold that office in its more than 230-year history. An economist by training, she had earlier been the first woman to chair the US Federal Reserve (2014–2018), so her 2021 appointment also made her the first person to have led both the Treasury and the Fed. She was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the US Senate.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Wrong — Lloyd Austin became US Secretary of Defense (the first African-American to hold that post) in January 2021, not Treasury Secretary.  (c) Wrong — Merrick Garland was confirmed as US Attorney General, heading the Department of Justice, in March 2021 — a different department from the Treasury.  (d) Wrong — this is not the name of any United States Treasury Secretary; the office went to Janet Yellen.

Concept: The US Secretary of the Treasury heads the Department of the Treasury and is the principal economic official in the President's Cabinet, responsible for federal finances, taxation (through the IRS), public debt and economic policy. Janet Yellen's appointment in January 2021 was historic as the first woman in the role; combined with her earlier chairmanship of the Federal Reserve, it made her the first person to have led the Treasury, the Fed and the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

State PCS 2021 Q58 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q58 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer