US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke faced mounting Senate opposition for another four-year term Friday as the White House worked aggressively to keep his nomination alive.
US President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were on the telephone throughout the day to crucial senators trying to shore up support, said two senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to more freely discuss behind-the-scenes activity.
Four Democrats say they will vote against Bernanke on the Senate floor. At least two senators who voted for Bernanke in the Senate Banking Committee last month are reconsidering their support.
Still, the administration’s worries about the status of the nomination also lessened somewhat, despite the Democratic defections, by the knowledge that several Republicans were committed for Bernanke, one official said.
Many others had not made their inclinations known, suggesting vacillation in the Senate over Bernanke and his stewardship of Wall Street both before and after the financial crisis. The Senate must approve the head of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank and Bernanke’s first term expires next Sunday.
A time for a vote still has not been set. Officials at one time had hoped that it would come last week.
Republican Senator Judd Gregg joined the White House on Friday in expressing confidence that Bernanke would be confirmed.
“I’m fairly confident we will get a strong vote from Republicans — it may not be a majority vote but it will be a strong vote,” said Gregg, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and former Budget Committee chairman.
While no one is declaring his confirmation doomed, the emergence of opposition and the shift by some to undecided illustrate just how difficult the terrain has become for Obama, especially since a Republican Senate victory in Massachusetts this week.
In a boost for Bernanke, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada came out late on Friday with his endorsement of the chairman.
Reid’s previous silence about his position on the Fed chief stoked misgivings about the nomination.
“An expert on the Great Depression, Chairman Bernanke helped steer us away from a second one,” Reid said. Still, he said Bernanke must increase his efforts to help struggling Americans.
The roster of senators arrayed against his reconfirmation grew on Friday, with Democratic senators Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin announcing their opposition.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who opposed Bernanke in the committee that sent the nomination to the full Senate, also said Friday he was opposing Bernanke’s nomination. He said Bernanke not only missed signs of the smoldering crisis but “helped set the fire” of the recession.
Democrat Byron Dorgan of North Dakota announced on Thursday he would oppose Bernanke on the Senate floor.
White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton, talking to reporters as Obama headed to Ohio, said the president has confidence in Bernanke’s actions and believes he is the best person for the job.
Burton said the White House still believes that Bernanke, 56, will get enough votes in the Senate to keep his job.
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