Geithner OK'd for Treasury, Schapiro takes over at SEC
Concerns about delinquent taxes not enough to block Treasury chief's nomination.
Timothy Geithner, former head of the Federal Reserve in New York, is now the Treasury secretary, following the Senate's 60-34 confirmation vote Monday.
Geithner faced opposition from many Republicans concerned about delinquent taxes, but it was not enough to block his nomination. Geithner had said his unpaid taxes were an oversight and he later settled his $42,702 overdue tax bill.
Democrats supporting Geithner's nomination said that given the severity of the economic crisis, the nation could not afford to wait for President Obama to find another nominee to run the Treasury Department.
Meanwhile, the Senate again approved by unanimous consent Obama's choice to head the SEC, Mary Schapiro.
Schapiro was confirmed last week for a term that expires in 2014, but she needed confirmation to fill the remainder of the term of former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, who was named by former President George W. Bush to head the agency in 2005.
Schapiro is the first woman to chair the SEC.