The Senate confirmed Timothy F. Geithner as the next Treasury secretary on Monday, putting the former Federal Reserve official in a key position to shape the administration’s response to the ongoing financial crisis in spite of his past failure to pay thousands of dollars in taxes.

The vote was 60-34. Several Democrats joined most Republicans in opposing the nomination.

Geithner, joined by members of his family, was sworn in shortly afterward in the presence of President Obama.

“We are at a moment of maximum challenge for our economy and our country,” Geithner said. “Our agenda is to move quickly to help you do what the country asked you to do.”

Although Geithner’s tax problem might have sunk a nominee in a different political climate, enough senators seemed willing during an economic upheaval to overlook the errors to confirm Obama’s choice.

Finance Committee member Orrin G. Hatch , R-Utah, called Geithner’s tax problems “a very serious matter” but said he supported the nominee “after weighing the facts of his tax situation with his impressive education, experience and intelligence . . . and keeping in mind the desperate financial crisis currently facing this country.”

Rolling out the administration’s comprehensive plan to rescue the ailing banking sector — the latest in a series of efforts — will likely be Geithner’s first order of business. He will have broad authority to spend the remaining $350 billion available under the bailout law (PL 110‑343), but many analysts say the administration may have to ask for more money to help banks dispose of trillions of dollars’ worth of bad investments.

Geithner is also planning to put new restrictions on any bailout money handed out to banks. Many lawmakers have been outraged by reports that banks that received chunks of the first $350 billion were not using that money to make new loans. At the same time, the Bush administration refused to use the funds to help reduce foreclosures, a Democratic priority.

Geithner has said any new dispersal of money will include tough new restrictions and transparency measures. The Obama administration has also promised between $50 billion and $100 billion to help mitigate foreclosures, but details of the new plan have yet to be revealed.

New Approach Needed on Souring Assets

By committing to changing the way the bailout is run, Geithner and the Obama administration are trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Bush White House. Former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. originally sold the bailout law as a way to buy souring mortgage-related assets, which were bleeding banks for billions of dollars in losses, from financial institutions. But Paulson quickly concluded that direct capital infusions were a better way to stabilize struggling banks.

The Paulson team may have concluded that banks would be driven into bankruptcy if they were forced to sell their assets at rock-bottom prices. Moreover, any asset-buying program would have been very expensive. By giving them cash to cover their losses, Paulson effectively performed triage on their problems related to the bad assets.

But many lawmakers were angered by the change in course, believing they were sold the program only to have Paulson pull the rug out from under them.