President Obama will reappoint Ben S. Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, administration officials said Monday night, electing to maintain continuity in the nation’s most powerful economic policymaking job in a time of crisis.
The decision, expected to be announced Tuesday morning, ends speculation about the fate of the nation’s top banker. Bernanke won praise for the unprecedented actions taken to contain the recession, but came under withering criticism from lawmakers for not preventing the financial meltdown that dragged the country and the rest of the world into a deep downturn.
If the Senate confirms him, Bernanke would serve a second four-year term when his current one ends on Jan. 31. He would, in his second term, begin the difficult task of unwinding the Fed’s extensive interventions in the economy.
A senior White House official said Obama has been impressed by Bernanke’s handling of the economic crisis over the past year and wants to maintain a steady hand in place as the economy begins to recover.
Change we can believe in!
Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.