Ben Bernanke is just one easy vote away from winning a second term as the chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Meaning Janet Yellen doesn't need to pack her bags.)
Opposition to Bernanke had been brewing since last spring, steeling in the last few weeks as a string of high-profile senators -- Republicans and Democrats, among them Barbara Boxer and John McCain -- said they opposed giving the Princeton academic another term at the helm of the world's most important central bank.
To explain the nuts and bolts of the process: Several senators had threatened to filibuster Bernanke, preventing the chamber from calling an up-down vote to confirm him. Bernanke's nomination just cleared the high supermajority hurdle to end that debate, with 77 senators voting to get the motion onto the floor. Now, Bernanke needs 51 senators to say yes, which they're planning to do this afternoon.
In the final speech of debate on the nomination, Sen. Chris Dodd said, "This is not some assistant undersecretary of some other agency. This is the central bank chairman of the most important central bank in the
world. [Reconfirming Bernanke] is a critically important component in continuing our
path to economic recovery." Sen. Jim DeMint is now tweeting his disapproval.
Shouldn't be going on for too much longer, but interested readers can watch the Senate floor live on C-SPAN here.
Update: Bernanke was confirmed, 70-30.
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