US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has declined to confirm his exit from the position when his term ends in January, amid continued political bickering over his replacement.
Four days after Larry Summers, the widely presumed White House pick to be the next Fed chief, withdrew his name in the face of strong political opposition, Bernanke sidestepped questions about the issue.
Asked at a press conference whether he might in fact stay on for a third term, he replied: “I prefer not to talk about my plans at this point.”
“I hope to have more information for you at some reasonably soon date, but today I want to focus on monetary policy. I’d prefer not to talk about my own plans.”
Bernanke’s replacement has turned into a political fight, with Summers, who was widely believed to be President Barack Obama’s pick for the position, bowing out on Sunday after meeting strong objections not only from Republicans but members of Obama’s own Democratic Party.
A former Treasury secretary and Obama’s top economic adviser during the financial crisis, few objected to Summers’s qualifications.
But liberals assailed his close ties to Wall Street and his central role in the 1999 banking deregulation that led directly to the crisis.