Corker Unsure Whether Bernanke Has Votes For Confirmation

Will Ben Bernanke have a second term chairing the Federal Reserve? Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a chairman on the banking committee holding the hearing on Bernanke's nomination, has his doubts. The Hill reports:

[Corker] said he wasn't sure yet whether the chairman had the votes on the Banking committee or in the Senate as a whole.

"I don't know where that sits," Corker told reporters when asked if Bernanke would have the votes to get a second term, adding he wasn't sure whether Bernanke would have the votes in the 23-member Senate Banking Committee, either.

The top Republican on the banking committee, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) refused to say how he planned to vote, though he did say that the Fed has "utterly failed" in its regulatory role.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) was less tight-lipped. "I absolutely will not vote for Mr. Bernanke," the Vermont senator said on ABC's "This Week." "He's part of the problem. If he's the smartest guy in the world, why didn't he do anything to prevent us from sinking into this disaster that Wall Street caused and which he was a part of? No, I will not vote for Bernanke to stay on as chairman."