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Joe Biden's treasury secretary-pick Janet Yellen received over $7M as speaking fees from finance and tech giants

The former federal reserve chief has the backing of the progressive Democrats but Hillary Clinton's experience in the past says a controversy could be a matter of time

President-elect Joe Biden’s picks for his administration that will take office on January 20 have already come under questioning, even from the Democratic Party’s progressive wings. And the latest to add fuel to the fire is Janet Yellen, Biden’s nominee for the post of treasury secretary. It has been reported that Yellen, a former chair of the federal reserve, has earned more than seven million dollars in speaking fees from Wall Street and corporate giants like Goldman Sachs, Citi, UBS, Credit Suisse, Barclays, etc. 

On Friday, January 1, Politico reported that Yellen’s financial disclosure is one of the three filed by the Biden team at the end of 2020 that ‘could become politically problematic’ with the Democratic Party’s left-wing once the confirmation hearing begins this month. It cited an official of the Biden transition team that they filed the forms “mid-week” before the Office of Government Ethics posted the forms late on Thursday, December 31. 

Progressive Dems not unhappy with Yellen pick but...

The Associated Press, however, reported on January 1 that the progressive Democrats were not unhappy with Biden’s selection of Yellen as they support the 74-year-old's work as a labor economist to combat economic inequality. Yellen had also pledged to fight systemic racism and climate change in her tenure. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised Yellen’s job as the federal reserve chief (2014-18) to hold Wells Fargo responsible for its fake accounts scam and pushing out the accountable board members. Warren had also previously called Yellen an “outstanding choice”.

Yet, Yellen’s drawing millions from big banks could raise questions over her links with Wall Street, something the progressives dislike. During the 2016 presidential campaign, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton faced a backlash from the left for the money she earned from Wall Street speeches after her tenure at the state department got over in 2013. 

Politico reported that a spokesperson for Warren, who has been vocal against the “revolving door” between government officials and corporations, did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the matter. 

Yellen found support from Biden’s transition team. Politico cited one official defending her speaking fees to say: “Take a look at her record on enforcement — this is not someone who pulls punches when it comes to bad actors or bad behavior. You can expect she will bring the same high ethical standards and tough enforcement philosophy to Treasury.”

Politico accused of being 'misogynistic'

But the Politico report was also accused of being “misogynistic”. A number of Democrats and supporters of the incoming administration besides some media commentators backed Yellen after the Politico report came out.

AP quoted Oregon Senator Ron Wyden as saying: "In the last few years, she has shared her views in a range of forums — congressional testimony, media interviews, speaking engagements, and opinion pieces. She's been fully transparent ... she’s spoken at economic conferences, universities and to business groups and financial institutions about her experiences and her views on what we can do as a country to build a stronger economy and increase our competitiveness.” Oregon, a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement to AP that he expects Yellen’s nomination to “move forward quickly, with her hearing held before Inauguration Day”. 

Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, said on Twitter: “Outrageous that Janet Yellen was paid for these speeches ... at lower rates than her male counterparts. Get on that investigation, Sam! #FairPay”. She added: “I see from the responses that some of you miss sarcasm and others think a paid speech is de facto "corruption" ... shouldn't we ask for the Yellen transcripts first? Maybe see what she said? Would any facts matter? Where are the guidelines for a donor or sponsor? Discuss!”

MSNBC journalist Stephanie Ruhle also spoke on the matter on Twitter, asking Politico to “do better” and defended Yellen for being “paid market value” for speaking at events. Writer and lawyer Amee Vanderpool tweeted: “So@AOC is faulted for being a waitress that doesn't make enough $, and now Janet Yellen is being faulted for being a baller that makes too much $... I'm starting to think the real problem is the rampant and pervasive sexism that is still allowed to invade too many opinions.”
  

However, the Politico report found an ally in Intercept co-founder and journalist Glenn Greenwald who sought to call out reporters he believes are biased in favor of Biden. “Democrats — including numerous Dem Party-aligned journalists — have spent all day smearing 2 Politico reporters as misogynistic because they had the sexist audacity to report on the very lucrative relationship between Janet Yellen & Wall St., the industry she's about to regulate,” he wrote in a tweet on Jan 1.