By Kate Davidson 

WASHINGTON -- Janet Yellen will become the first woman to lead the U.S. Treasury Department after the Senate voted 84-15 on Monday evening to confirm her nomination.

The 74-year-old economist, who has been at the forefront of economic policy-making for 25 years, will now play a key role advancing President Biden's economic agenda, starting with an ambitious $1.9 trillion economic relief package that is already facing resistance from GOP lawmakers worried about its cost.

Ms. Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chairwoman, will also become the first person to lead the Treasury, Fed and the White House Council of Economic Advisers, which she chaired during the Clinton administration.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Ms. Yellen's speedy confirmation reflects his view that presidents should be able to assemble a team of "qualified and mainstream people."

"This certainly isn't because Dr. Yellen's or President Biden's economic policy views have unanimous support in the Senate," Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor before the vote. "I expect we'll have no shortage of spirited policy discussions with Dr. Yellen in the months ahead -- especially if some Democrats keep trying to use this historic emergency as a pretext to push through permanent far-left policy changes."

The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously last week to approve Ms. Yellen's nomination. At the time, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) said he hoped the GOP support "signals an interest by me and I know by all of my Republican colleagues in working cooperatively and in a bipartisan way" with President Biden.

While Mr. Grassley and several other Republicans said they disagreed with Ms. Yellen on policy issues, including on tax increases and proposals to raise the minimum wage, they said she was qualified to lead the Treasury.

Ms. Yellen will now begin making the case on Capitol Hill for the administration's relief package, which provides for another round of direct stimulus payments, extended and enhanced jobless benefits, funding for schools and first responders and the creation of a nationwide vaccination program. It also includes longstanding Democratic priorities, such as raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and expanding paid leave for workers.

At her confirmation hearing last week, she urged lawmakers to set aside concerns about rising budget deficits and "act big" to avoid a protracted economic downturn.

"Economists don't always agree, but I think there is a consensus now: Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now -- and long-term scarring of the economy later," she said Tuesday.

She will take the reins at the Treasury as the economic recovery falters amid a surge in virus coronavirus cases and deaths. After seven months of job gains, U.S. employers shed 140,000 jobs in December, while retail sales fell for the third straight month.

Ms. Yellen at her hearing also said the Biden administration wouldn't seek to raise taxes on the wealthy or corporations until the economy had recovered further from the pandemic. She also sounded a hawkish note on China, affirmed the U.S.'s commitment to market-determined exchange rates and said she plans to establish a hub within the Treasury to review financial stability risks and tax incentives around climate change, which she called an existential threat.

Ms. Yellen's deputy, Wally Adeyemo, is awaiting a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Nellie Liang, an economist who specialized in financial stability during her career at the Federal Reserve, is expected to be tapped as the undersecretary for domestic finance, according to people familiar with the matter.

Write to Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2021 18:43 ET (23:43 GMT)