Senate confirms a cluster of Obama nominees

[Thrill]

The Senate confirmed a cluster of President Barack Obama's nominees to government posts on Thursday, including his secretaries of housing and transportation and members of his economic and environmental teams. But his picks for attorney general and deputy defense secretary remained mired by questions over interrogation methods and ethics.

A vote to confirm Timothy Geithner as Obama's treasury secretary was scheduled for Monday.

Without objection, senators confirmed former Illinois Rep. Ray Lahood, a Republican, and New York City housing commissioner Shaun Donovan to be Obama's secretaries of transportation and housing, respectively. The vote filled nine of 15 Cabinet positions.

Also confirmed Thursday were Lisa Perez Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency administrator; Nancy Helen Sutley as a member of the Council of Environmental Quality; Mary Schapiro as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Susan Rice as ambassador to the U.N.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_co/obama_nominees;_ylt=Ato8wxhJlLt7zyCjWW5JS1qyFz4D