Ben Bernanke gets a second term as Federal Reserve chairman

The 70-30 vote was a hard-won victory for President Obama, who had lobbied senators who threatened to block the confirmation of a Bush-era holdover whom they considered an emblem of failed economic policy.

The bipartisan vote came three days before the expiration of Bernanke's first term.

The margin of victory was the narrowest for a Fed chairman's confirmation in the nearly century-long history of the central bank, reflecting intense public wrath in the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the resulting bailouts of giant financial institutions.

Fed nominees are rarely controversial. Until now, the most-contested Fed nomination was Paul Volcker's 84-16 confirmation to a second term in 1983, after a deep recession.

Although Bernanke survived the politically charged debate on Capitol Hill, he faces tougher challenges as he begins his second term.