WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is nominating former Federal Reserve economist Nellie Liang as the Treasury's Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, the White House said on Thursday.
Liang, a senior fellow at the liberal Brookings Institution think tank, was the Fed's first director of financial stability, analyzing system risks in the years following the financial crisis and Great Recession.
The White House also announced the nomination of Lily Batchelder, a former long-time Senate staffer who served as a senior economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, as assistant secretary for tax policy.
Biden nominated Ben Harris, who served as his chief economist and economic adviser while he was vice president, as assistant secretary for economic policy, and Jonathan Davidson, a former aide to several Democratic senators, as Treasury's assistant secretary for legislative affairs.
Yellen hailed the nominations for her expanded team, saying she looked forward to their confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Referring to Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill, she said in a statement: "With the passage of the American Rescue Plan yesterday, Americans are counting on our Treasury team to do all they can to accelerate the recovery. These nominees are key to that effort.”
The Senate Finance Committee voted last week to approve the nomination of Wally Adeyemo as Yellen's deputy, but no full vote has yet been scheduled in the Senate.