Janet Yellen on Monday evening was confirmed as the secretary of the Department of the Treasury in an 84-15 vote by the United States Senate.

Yellen becomes the first female Treasury secretary in American history.

U.S. Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) each voted “nay” on the confirmation.

Shelby has vocally criticized Yellen in the past due to fiscal policy differences. He voted against her confirmation in 2014 as chair of the Federal Reserve and was subsequently a leading critic of her on the national stage when Shelby served as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which has oversight of the Fed.

Alabama’s senior senator also voted against Yellen’s confirmation in 2010 as vice chair of the Fed, citing her “inflationary bias.”

Yellen’s Monday confirmation came after she was nominated by President Joe Biden. Shelby and Tuberville had voted to support both of the Biden nominees considered by the Senate before Yellen: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Tuberville on Monday evening released a statement explaining his opposition to Yellen’s confirmation.

“With our country still suffering from the pandemic, our first priority should be getting folks back to work,” said the freshman senator. “Sadly, Secretary Yellen’s positions would only make job creation harder.”

“She’s suggested repealing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would raise taxes on hard-working Americans and eliminate jobs,” Tuberville continued. “She supports more than doubling the minimum wage, which would be crippling for so many small businesses that are already suffering under the pandemic. And she has demonstrated an alarming lack of concern with the rapid and unsustainable expansion of the national debt throughout her career. With these concerns in mind, I voted no on Secretary Yellen’s confirmation, and I hope she will rethink her positions to prioritize making it easier, not harder, for Alabamians and Americans to find good-paying jobs during these difficult economic times.”

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn