WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate panel has approved Mary Jo White's nomination to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and sent it along for a final vote.
The Senate Banking Committee approved White's nomination on a 21-1 vote. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was the only member to object. White is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate and become the first former prosecutor to lead the agency that oversees Wall Street.
The panel also advanced Richard Cordray's nomination to continue as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But his nomination was approved on a 12-10 party-line vote. All Republican members opposed the nomination. They have also opposed the newly created agency and have expressed interest in curtailing Cordray's power.
Republicans may try and block a final vote on Cordray's nomination.