Senate confirms six more Obama nominees

The Senate Thursday evening cleared six more nominees to serve in President Obama’s administration.

Acting by voice vote, senators approved former Rep. Ray LaHood as Transportation secretary. LaHood is a former Republican lawmaker from Illinois, and is the only GOP official nominated by Obama for the cabinet who is not a holdover from the Bush administration.

{mosads}The Senate also cleared former New York City housing official Shaun Donovan as secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Obama’s campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador.

Former Financial Industry Regulatory Authority CEO Mary Schapiro was confirmed to be chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She is the first woman to lead the SEC.

Senators also approved Lisa Jackson, former chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and former Los Angeles deputy mayor Nancy Sutley to head the White House Council of Environmental Quality.

The approval votes came after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reached a unanimous consent agreement with Republicans, allowing for the voice vote. The confirmations followed seven other nominees approved by the Senate on Tuesday.