Senate OKs Geithner as Treasury Secretary

The Senate confirmed New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner to be President Barack Obama's secretary of the treasury today, the AP reports. The 60-34 vote puts Geithner at the helm of Obama's plan to rescue the economy from the worst financial crisis in three generations. It also dislodges one of Obama's most troubled nominations.

Some senators were concerned that Geithner, who would oversee the Internal Revenue Service, did not pay all of his taxes until he had been tapped for president's Cabinet. Geithner called it an unintentional oversight and settled his $34,000 overdue tax bill. Obama and others supporting Geithner's nomination said the nation couldn't afford to wait for Obama to search for another nominee to run the Treasury Department.