WASHINGTON – The Senate has confirmed New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner to be President Barack Obama’s secretary of the treasury.

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 taxes until he had been tapped to the president’s Cabinet. Geithner called it an unintentional oversight and settled his $42,702 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.