Senate to vote on Janet Yellen's nomination next week

The US Senate will vote next week on the new budget deal and Janet Yellen's nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday.

"On Tuesday, we'll begin consideration of the budget. On Wednesday, the defense bill, and after that we'll address further nominations, of which the most important one is Janet Yellen," Reid said on the Senate floor.

Yellen, currently number two at the Fed and picked by President Barack Obama to replace outgoing Chairman Ben Bernanke, is expected to gain easy approval.

The date for the vote has not been set, but Reid has said he wants the Senate to complete its work in this session by Friday, December 20 so legislators can then head out for the Christmas holiday.

Bernanke's last day, at the end of a second four-year term, is January 31.

The budget bill, a Democrat-Republican compromise that reduces scheduled cuts over the next two years, is also likely to smoothly pass, after the House of Representatives pushed it through on Thursday with overwhelming support.