Mnuchin says he has spoken with Biden Treasury nominee Yellen

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that he has had direct conversations with Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to helm the Treasury Department.

“I have spoken to her several times,” Mnuchin said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday morning. “We worked very closely when she was Fed chair for the first year, so I know her very well.”

“We are cooperating with the transition team and I have had several direct sessions with her to tell her about many of the Treasury priorities and what needs to be done,” Mnuchin added.

The comments from Mnuchin, one of Trump’s most trusted Cabinet members, come even as President Trump continues to contest the election results. The meetings are a sign that the transition process is moving forward as intended, despite the president’s false claims that he won the election.

Yellen, who would be the first female Treasury secretary if confirmed, was nominated by former President Obama to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve, a position she held from 2014 to 2018. Trump replaced her with Jerome Powell roughly a year into his presidency. Biden announced on Nov. 30 that he planned to nominate Yellen to serve as his Treasury secretary.

Other Cabinet officials and high-level officials have met with members of Biden’s transition team since the General Services Administration formally acknowledge Biden as the apparent winner of the presidential election at the end of November.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said earlier this month that he met with Biden’s team and wanted to ensure “a full, cooperative, professional transition.” He said at the time he would be willing to meet with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), Biden’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, though it is unclear whether any meeting between the two has since taken place.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also expected to meet with Antony Blinken, Biden’s choice to lead the State Department, last week.

Meanwhile, Biden’s transition team expressed concerns last week about what they described as an “abrupt halt” to cooperation from the Pentagon after planned meetings were canceled. Defense Department officials pushed back on the notion that cooperation would be hampered, saying meetings were being rescheduled as part of an agreed-upon pause for the holiday.