Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, discusses the COVID stimulus bill passed without Republican support, arguing it could have been twofold.
Where’s Janet?
It was a well-known recent refrain about the country’s new treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, who, according to staff members, has an exceptionally low profile in the White House and on Capitol Hill, even though the government has insisted on its $ 1 9 billion COVID-19 relief account, FOX. Business has learned.
According to staff members within the department of treasury, Yellen is rarely in the White House these days, except when he sometimes meets with the president or does an occasional TV interview, people with knowledge say. She does most of her work remotely and has done very few (if any) personal meetings on the hill with negotiations with key senators for the implementation of the massive stimulus bill.
Staff say her immediate deputies also worked mainly remotely during the early days of government. Many lower-level staff members work at the headquarters of the Department of Treasury adjacent to the White House, despite the ongoing pandemic, people with direct knowledge of the FOX Business case say.
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Some Treasury staff say Yellen will normally be a key player in the negotiations. Her absence in face-to-face discussions, especially with key legislators needed to pass the bill, may have contributed to the withdrawn nature of the negotiations that recently received Senate approval. The bill now goes home this week before ending up on Biden’s desk.
As finance minister, Yellen holds one of the most important cabinet positions in government that oversees the US $ 25.3 trillion economy. She and her senior staff are familiar with top-secret information, and handling and protecting the information while working remotely can be problematic, some staff members say.
Despite Democrats controlling both the House and the Senate, President Biden has had a setback on important aspects of the bill, even by fellow Democrats, such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
A Treasury spokesman declined to comment, but declined to say Yellen worked most of her time remotely.
A person close to Yellen, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that her work habits did not hinder the negotiations, and that senior treasury officials, including Yellen, played a key role in forming the $ 1 package. , 9 billion. The person would not say whether Yellen personally spoke to key senators during the difficult negotiations.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 17: Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve Board, speaks at a news conference on December 17, 2014 at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ headquarters in Washington, DC. The Federal Reserve has announced that this will not happen
The person also pointed out that the Biden administration has adopted different, safer work protocols than the Trump administration, where White House meetings with unmasked participants have often turned into COVID-19 super-distributor events.
“At the end of the day, the law did,” this person said.
Of course, part of Yellen’s absence can be attributed to new pandemic work protocols, where many people in different enterprises and in government have chosen to do their jobs remotely. Yellen is 74 and, due to her age, is in one of the higher risk categories for the virus.
A Treasury spokesman would not say whether Yellen was vaccinated; President Biden, 78, has been fully vaccinated since mid-January. The president has also been criticized for having an extraordinarily low profile and in his case has not held a formal press conference since taking formal control of the White House.
What is striking, however, about the absence of Yellen and her senior staff is that it is in stark contrast to the work habits of Trump’s key economic advisers, such as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his top deputies during their various COVID-19s. economic emergency relief efforts.
During the past year of the pandemic, key Trump officials sometimes also worked remotely, although the emphasis was on being in office as much as possible. When the Trump administration insisted on its various pandemic bills for economic relief, it was’ everyone ‘on deck’, according to one senior Trump assistant who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mnuchin and his senior economic staff members worked 24 hours a day and in person at the White House and at the Treasury headquarters during the negotiations, the person said.
Mnuchin, who turned 58 in December and was Trump’s main man in talks, could also be seen wandering the halls of the Capitol building with a mask on, while he and his team personally met key players in the debate, including Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader. and House President Nancy Pelosi, the person added.
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Mnuchin reaffirmed his practical approach to FOX Business during pandemic legislation talks last year.
“There were a ‘limited number of people entering the U.S. Treasury during the operation to prepare and execute the legislation,'” he said in a text message. “We set up temperature controls and set guidelines for social distance.”