The Senate, putting market stability ahead of populist anger at Wall Street, voted Thursday to give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke a second four-year term as head of the nation's central bank.

The 70-30 vote was a hard-won victory for President Barack Obama, who had waged an intensive lobbying campaign over the past week to sway rebellious senators who threatened to block the nomination of a Bush-era holdover whom they considered an emblem of failed economic policy.

The vote was bipartisan, but it was still the smallest vote margin for a Fed chairman in the central bank's nearly century-long history, reflecting the intense public backlash in the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Depression.

Though he survived the politically charged debate on Capitol Hill, Bernanke faces tougher challenges as he embarks on his second term as head of an institution whose reputation has been tarnished.

For one thing, the congressional anger displayed in the run-up to the vote might spell trouble as Bernanke tries to beat back efforts in Congress to increase transparency and oversight of the Fed and its activities, including its interest-rate-setting monetary policy proceedings.

Bernanke has repeatedly argued that such legislation would threaten the independence of the Fed, subjecting it to potential undue political influence.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, urged his colleagues Thursday to keep such policy questions at bay during the debate on Bernanke.

"If we need to reform the Fed, let's reform the Fed," Dodd said. But defeating Bernanke's nomination would risk rocking the financial markets, Dodd said, and "would be beyond shameful. It would be the height of irresponsibility."

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

In the final vote, 22 Republicans joined 47 Democrats and one independent, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, in supporting Bernanke.

Beyond relations with Congress, Bernanke faces what is almost certain to be a highly contentious period for the Fed because of potential conflicts between its dual mandates: to maximize employment and also maintain price stability.

In the months ahead, if the economy grows as slowly as many economists expect, political pressure will mount for the Fed to keep the pedal on monetary stimulus to boost employment.

But if the Fed keeps the accelerator down too long, the result could be serious inflation in the long term. And Bernanke will face pressure from financial conservatives to begin tightening credit, which would tend to slow the economy.

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