Yellen Confirmation by U.S. Senate Delayed Until January

A final confirmation vote on Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve was delayed until early January after the U.S. Senate dropped plans to consider her nomination this weekend, reports Bloomberg.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late yesterday announced an agreement under which senators will vote to advance Yellen’s nomination today, then take a holiday break and return Jan. 6 for the final vote. Confirmation votes for three other presidential nominees are set for today.

According to Bloomberg,  faced with vows by Republicans to use all the available time to delay a confirmation vote on Yellen until 6 p.m. tomorrow, Reid agreed to take up the matter next month in exchange for locking in votes on three other nominees.

The Senate today will vote on confirming John Koskinen to be the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Alejandro Mayorkas to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Brian Davis to be a federal judge in Florida.

Bottom line: It appears that the delay is so senators can leave for their home states today and that extended Republican debate on the Yellen nomination, which will do nothing to prevent her eventual nomination,will take place in Jnauary.