Opposition to Bernanke’s Re-Confirmation Growing

It seems opposition is growing against Ben Bernanke’s re-confirmation as Fed Chairman for a second term. According to Huffington Post, on Thursday Jim Manley, senior communications adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said that the Bernanke vote, originally scheduled for  Friday, had not been firmly locked in and won’t take place this week.

Mr. Bernanke’s four year-term ends on Jan. 31. It is unclear what would happen if the Senate fails to approves him for a second term before then.

From Dow Jones: “The U.S. Senate is “unlikely” to hold a confirmation vote on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s second term at the helm of the central bank, a senior Democratic leadership aide said Thursday.

Earlier this week, leadership aides said it was possible lawmakers would seek to vote on Bernanke’s confirmation on Friday, but that now seems doubtful, the aide said.
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Bernanke is widely expected to be confirmed once a vote is held, but there are a handful of lawmakers preventing the Senate from moving directly to a vote. One of those, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who generally votes with the Democratic majority, is pressing for President Barack Obama to withdraw Bernanke’s nomination and select another candidate to lead the Fed”.