White House Pushes for Bernanke

With unemployment running at 10 percent and Wall Street bankers again pocketing big bonuses, many see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s priorities as skewed. But absent from those critics is the White House, which believes Bernanke will be reconfirmed for a second term next week. —JCL

The BBC:

The White House says it is confident of Ben Bernanke’s confirmation as Federal Reserve chairman for a second term.

The top Republican in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, also said that he believed Mr Bernanke would be confirmed with bi-partisan support.

However Mr McConnell did not say if he would be voting for Mr Bernanke.

There has been opposition from senators in both parties to Mr Bernanke’s second term. Critics say he did not do enough to prevent the economic crisis.

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AP / J. Scott Applewhite

President Obama is believed to have contacted Senate allies over the weekend to make the case for Bernanke.