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President-elect Joe Biden has picked Janet Yellen to head the Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. If the Senate confirms her, Yellen would be the first woman to be treasury secretary.

Biden announced last week he had chosen a treasury secretary, saying it would be "someone who will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, from the progressive to the moderate coalitions."

Yellen would become the first person to have led the Federal Reserve chair, White House Council of Economic Advisors, and the Treasury.

She was in charge of the Federal Reserve during President Barack Obama's second term, serving from 2014 to 2017. President Donald Trump replaced her with Jerome Powell as head of the Fed.

Biden's choice positions Yellen to confront an immense set of challenges. Congress hasn't approved an economic aid package with both parties fiercely divided on its size and reach for months. Coronavirus cases continue to surge, causing states to implement new restrictions to thwart the virus's spread.

Many economists warn these factors could derail the recovery, which has already been shaky.

During her tenure as Fed chair, Yellen pushed to reduce unemployment. "I'm very interested in the job market, and a lot of my career has been spent studying unemployment and trying to understand how we can lower it," she said at a New York University event in early 2017, per The New York Times.

Earlier this year, Yellen also signaled a willingness to support more federal spending in pursuit of education and climate change programs to juice growth — both priorities for the incoming Biden administration.

"In a world of low real rates, there's also a strong case for programs to invest in infrastructure, education, research and development, climate change mitigation — namely investments that would elevate potential growth," Yellen said at the annual American Economic Association meeting in January.

Read more: Wall Street experts are calling the Fed the single most-important driver of stock market returns after all the election chaos. Here's why they're bullish and how they recommend exploiting the gains to come.

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See Also:

• Joe Biden's Cabinet-in-waiting: Meet the people in play for a new administration, and Biden's picks for key roles like Secretary of State and national security advisor
• Biden team is reportedly pushing congressional Democrats to strike an immediate stimulus deal with Republicans to stave off a renewed recession
• 'Threading a needle while riding a bike:' How Republicans with 2024 ambitions are navigating the prospect of another Trump White House campaign