MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

White House confident of Bernanke’s confirmation at the Federal Reserve

Bernanke’s post is up January 31st.

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.

Many feel he has paid too much attention to Wall Street and not enough attention to the general American public - where unemployment has touched 10% and many are struggling with mortgage repayments.

Senators are scheduled to vote on Mr Bernanke by the end of the week (January 31) when his mandate is up.

Mr Obama is thought to have contacted Senate allies over the weekend to make the case for Mr Bernanke.

“The readings he's getting from his conversations are that Chairman Bernanke will be confirmed”, Senior White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN.

“We're still in a fragile state here, even though the economy is growing and we need his leadership. He has been a very steady hand in this crisis” he added.

Economists have warned that a defeat of Bernanke's quest for another four-year term could raise the risk of a “double dip” recession if political jousting over a successor were to drag on for months.

The chance of Bernanke's defeat has unsettled Wall Street, contributing to last week's 4% loss by the Dow Jones industrial average, its worst performance in 10 months. If Bernanke were rejected, uncertainty over a successor would further roil global markets, at least in the short run.

First appointed to the Fed by Republican President George W. Bush, Bernanke is likely less objectionable to Republicans than other potential alternatives, such as White House economic advisers Larry Summers or Christina Romer, or Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

A change in leadership wouldn't immediately mean a shift in Fed policy. That's because rates are expected to remain a record lows through much of this year to nurture the recovery. No Fed chairman has been rejected by the Senate. The most “no” votes cast against a Fed chairman were Paul Volcker in 1983. The count: 84-16.