Obama will nominate the first woman to head the Fed.
The US president is expected to announce on Wednesday that current Federal Reserve vice-chairwoman Janet Yellen will be the new head of the US central bank; she has been a strong advocate for aggressive action to reduce unemployment and could continue the policies established under Bernanke's leadership.
By Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate current Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday to be the new head of the U.S. central bank, a White House official said Tuesday.
If confirmed by the United States Senate, Yellen will replace Ben Bernanke, whose current term as chairman of the Fed ends in January. Obama will make the announcement at the White House at 16 p.m. (Brasilia time). Bernanke is also expected to attend.
Yellen would be the first woman to lead the institution, which has a 100-year history.
She has been a strong advocate for aggressive action to reduce unemployment and may continue the policies that the Fed established under Bernanke's leadership.
The former professor has a long history in the upper echelons of economic policy decision-making, including her work over the past three years as the Fed's second-highest-ranking official.
Yellen, 67, will have to oversee the complex process of reversing the extraordinary stimulus that the US central bank put in place to boost the world's largest economy.
If she is approved by the Senate, as expected, she will join other names who have already led the Fed, such as Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan.
Obama turned to Yellen after his former economic advisor Lawrence Summers withdrew his name from consideration for the post amid strong opposition within the Democratic Party, the same party as the president, which raised doubts about whether he would be confirmed by Congress.
Yellen, on the other hand, has broad support from Democrats. In an unusual move, 20 Democratic senators signed a letter pressuring Obama to nominate the former University of California, Berkeley professor.
Although Yellen's support among Republicans is much lower, she should have no difficulty securing the 60 votes needed to overcome any procedural hurdles in the 100-seat Senate. Democrats control the House with 54 members compared to 46 Republicans.