Skip to content
Businessweek
Economics

Janet Yellen Is Struggling at the Treasury Job She Never Wanted

The ex-Fed chair has been sidelined by the White House on some key issues.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Photographer: Tom Williams/AP
By

Updated on

It was supposed to have been a capstone. Instead, Janet Yellen’s stint as Treasury secretary threatens to become a stain on a storied career.

The former Federal Reserve chair was recruited to help steer the US economy out of the pandemic by lending her gravitas and credibility to the Biden administration’s pursuit of a robust and lasting recovery. It took some arm-twisting to persuade her to take the job.