Senate Confirms Geithner to Head Treasury « The Washington Independent
Jul 31, 202015.3K Shares695.7K Views
But not without opposition from a handful of Democrats.
Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa), Robert Byrd (W.V.) and Russ Feingold (Wis.) — as well as independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) — all voted against Timothy Geithner, President Obama’s pick to head the Treasury Department.
Geithner became the subject of scrutiny earlier this month when it was revealed that the man who would head the IRS had failed to pay roughly $34,000 in payroll taxes while working overseas earlier this decade.
The USA Todayreports that, for some Democrats, the episode was just one reason to oppose the nominee:
“„“I cannot vote to promote Mr. Geithner,” Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said, after listing a number of mistakes he believes Geithner has made as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank during what has become one of the nation’s most serious financial and economic crises in decades. “I want a Treasury secretary who’s going to start banging some heads,” Harkin added, after saying he believes Geithner has not shown he’s willing to hard enough on the executives who run some of the biggest banks and brokerages.
In the end, those sentiments didn’t win the day. The final vote was 60 to 34.
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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