President Barack Obama is set to nominate Janet L. Yellen to succeed Ben S. Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve.
The White House announced the news on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. If confirmed, Yellen would be the first woman to head the Fed.
The White House will officially announce the news at the White House on Wednesday.
Yellen would take over in 2014 after Bernanke's second four year term ends January 31. The change over comes as the Fed is looking to reduce support for the economy without causing it to reverse its slow recovery. She has made it known she wants to take more aggressive actions in fixing the economy.
Yellen's nomination should make economists happy as they've lobbied extensively to get Obama to choose her. According to The New York Times, the president's original choice for Fed chairman was Lawrence H. Summer, but he withdrew in September.
Yellen, 67, has been the vice chairwoman for the Fed since 2010. Her resume includes stints as a White House advisor, Fed governor, professor at the University of California, Berkley and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
image: Wikimedia Commons
