President Trump already announced his pick to replace Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve, choosing former private equity executive Jerome Powell. But Yellen — whose term as a board member runs until 2024, even once she is no longer chair — said Monday she will leave the central bank in February, six years early.
The resignation means the Trump administration will need to replace her seat on the board, in addition to appointing the new chairman.
“I am enormously proud to have worked alongside many dedicated and highly able women and men, particularly my predecessor as chair, Ben Bernanke, whose leadership during the financial crisis and its aftermath was critical to restoring the soundness of our financial system and the prosperity of our economy,” Yellen said in a resignation letter cited by Politico.
Yellen has worked for the Federal Reserve since 1994, a tenure that was only interrupted by a two-year stint in then-President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers in the late 1990s.
Prior to Powell’s nomination, Trump’s chief economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs executive, Gary Cohn, was considered to be a front-runner for board chairman. [Politico] — Will Parker