Sen. Sanders Puts Hold on Bernanke Nomination

Independent's move could force Dems to scrape up 60 votes
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 2, 2009 7:23 PM CST
Sen. Sanders Puts Hold on Bernanke Nomination
Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt.   (AP Photo)

Saying that Ben Bernanke is too tied to the roots of the current financial crisis and too beholden the institutions that helped cause it, Sen. Bernie Sanders put a hold on the nomination process for a second term for the Federal Reserve chief. The Vermont independent’s move—not much of a surprise given his earlier opposition—could force Bernanke supporters to round up 60 votes to bring the nomination to the floor, rather than bring it to a vote via unanimous consent.

“The American people want a new direction on Wall Street and at the Fed,” Sanders said in a statement of Bernanke, nominated by President George W. Bush and re-nominated by President Obama. “It’s time for him to go.”
(More Ben Bernanke stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X