WASHINGTON — Herman Cain’s chances to win confirmation to the Federal Reserve plummeted on Thursday as at least four Republican senators indicated they would not back President Trump’s choice to fill a Fed seat.

Those defections would be enough to defeat Mr. Cain in a divided Senate, should Mr. Trump follow through with his plans to formally nominate him.

Mr. Cain, a former pizza magnate whose 2012 presidential run was upended by claims of sexual harassment, is currently undergoing a background check and President Trump has said he will wait for that to be completed before officially nominating him to the seven-member Fed board.

Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, told reporters on Thursday that he “would vote no” if asked to confirm Mr. Cain. Three other Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Cory Gardner of Colorado — have also said publicly that they would not support Mr. Cain.

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, declined to say on Thursday whether the White House should drop Mr. Cain. But he did say that the administration should consider whether the person it sends up can be confirmed.

“I think that the White House ought to take into consideration obviously two things before making a nomination,” he said, citing the background check and “ the possibility of being confirmed.”

He added that “several of our members have had strong feelings about people who’ve been mentioned.”

Mr. McConnell has urged members to make those concerns known, saying public displays of opposition by Republicans “would be helpful to the administration” in choosing whether or not to send Mr. Cain’s name to the Senate.

Mr. McConnell and his leadership team are concerned that the Cain nomination will further erode support for Republican candidates in affluent suburbs, swing districts where Mr. Trump’s unpopularity with women hurt the party in the 2018 midterms.

Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate. No Senate Democrats are expected to support a nomination of Mr. Cain, who frequently derides Democrats in web videos and on social media. On Wednesday, Mr. Cain lashed out at the Senate banking committee that will vet his nomination, calling its members “a bunch of yahoos” during a lecture at the University of Kansas.

Mr. Cain’s presidential campaign was upended after several women came forward with accusations of previous sexual harassment or improper behavior. Mr. Cain has remained defiant about the accusations and said he looked forward to telling his side of the story during the confirmation process.

“I will be able to explain it this time, where they wouldn’t let me explain it last time,” he said last week in a web video.

Mr. Trump, when announcing his pick of Mr. Cain, called the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza, “a truly outstanding individual,” and he said, “I’ve told my folks that’s the man.”

But the administration has slowly sounded less sure of Mr. Cain’s chances. “As to how he’s doing in the process, that I don’t know,” Mr. Trump said this week, referring to the background check. “You go through a process. But Herman is a great guy and I hope he does well.”

Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council who recommended Mr. Cain for the Fed, said on Thursday that the White House continues to back Mr. Cain “at the moment.”

In recent videos posted on the conservative news site Western Journal, Mr. Cain has expressed hope that he would be nominated, but stressed that the decision is Mr. Trump’s to make — and that he was still undergoing the vetting process.

The firestorm over Mr. Cain has done much to distract attention from grumblings about Mr. Trump’s other Fed pick, Stephen Moore, the conservative economist and former campaign adviser.

Mr. Moore has yet to be formally nominated, but his potential appointment had been clouded by revelations of ethical and financial lapses. Mr. Moore was held in contempt of court after failing to pay more than $300,000 in child support and is also in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over $75,000 in back taxes that he owes.

Mr. Moore has called the I.R.S. request for back taxes a “miscalculation.”

Several leadership aides believe Mr. Moore will garner wide support among Senate Republicans, if no new revelations emerge during vetting, hearings and one-on-one meetings with senators.

Glenn Thrush contributed reporting.

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