Washington  - The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday approved Timothy Geithner's nomination to be US Treasury secretary in President Barack Obama's administration, paving the way for Geithner's confirmation by the full US Senate.

The Finance Committee voted 18-5 to send Geithner's nomination to the Senate, which could confirm his appointment later this week.

Geithner's confirmation was delayed - meaning Obama's economic team was not in place by his inauguration Tuesday - after it emerged that he had failed to pay 34,000 dollars in taxes earlier this decade.

Geithner has since paid the back taxes and apologized for the "mistake" in a confirmation hearing Wednesday, but some Republicans said the issue raised questions about his judgement suitability to the job. (dpa)