Washington ? New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner won confirmation Monday as President Barack Obama’s treasury secretary despite personal tax lapses that turned more than a third of the Senate against him.

The Senate voted 60-34 to put Geithner in charge of the administration’s economic team as it races to halt the worst financial slide in generations. The swearing-in followed less than an hour later, the administration seeking to emphasize that it was wasting no time in trying to address the financial crisis.

Geithner said the new administration would work first to stabilize the financial system and get the economy growing again and then would move to reform the system.