Senate Confirms Rubin as Treasury Secretary
President Clinton’s nomination of Robert E. Rubin to be Treasury secretary won quick approval Tuesday, with Rubin promising senators that the Administration will look for ways to cooperate with Congress.
The full Senate confirmed Rubin’s nomination, 99 to 0, without debate only hours after he had appeared for a cordial hearing before the Finance Committee. Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) did not vote.
Senators praised Rubin for his integrity and grasp of economic detail. Rubin, a former co-chairman of the Wall Street investment firm of Goldman Sachs & Co., was picked by Clinton to succeed Lloyd Bentsen, who resigned last month to return to Texas.
Rubin received praise for directing the President’s National Economic Council, which coordinates White House economic strategy.
He said Clinton would not deviate from his commitment to reducing the deficit. “Tax cuts or spending cuts must be paid for,” Rubin told the Finance Committee.
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