Senate approves Wall Street executive as new Treasury chief

Acting on a voice vote, the Senate approved the nomination of Henry Paulson Wednesday to become the next Treasury secretary.

Paulson, 60, takes over for John Snow, who held the post since February 2003. Snow resigned last month.

Paulson told the Finance Committee at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that he would work to trim the budget deficit and argued against raising taxes.

He also said he would push China to reform its currency policy to help strengthen the U.S. economy.

Paulson, the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, becomes Bush's third Treasury secretary. The Bush administration persuaded Paulson to take the position after promising he would have more authority within the administration.

There had been speculation that Bush was having trouble filling the post because the secretary took a backseat role at the White House.