Pelosi: ‘It would be great to have a first woman chairman of the Fed’

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s term ends in January, and both he and
President Obama have signaled his time at the central bank is coming to a close.

The race for the Fed’s top slot has narrowed recently, with Yellen and Larry Summers seen as the leading candidates. 

“Larry Summers has been a patriotic leader in our country, working hard,” Pelosi said. 

“I think both of them understand the responsibility of the Fed chairman, and I see it from the view of the House, Congress.”  

She said both are strong choices who understand what must be done to help drive economic growth with the help of monetary policy. 

“I wish the president luck in his decision there,” she said.

Summers was Treasury Secretary during the Clinton adminstration and was a top economist in the Obama White House before leaving that role at the end of 2010 to return to teaching at Harvard. 

Bernanke’s successor will be tasked with ending the Fed’s massive monetary stimulus program sometime in mid-2014 if the economy continues to improve.