The U.S. Senate confirmed on Thursday several more cabinet designees, including Susan Rice as the country's ambassador to the UN.
The Senate unanimously confirmed the foreign policy scholar from the Brookings Institution to be the first African-American woman to head the U.S. mission in the UN.
She used to be an assistant secretary of state for African affairs in former President Bill Clinton's administration and has served as foreign policy adviser to Obama during his campaign.
The Senate also confirmed former Republican congressman Ray LaHood from Illinois as the secretary of the Transportation Department, New York housing commissioner Shaun Donovan as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Lisa Perez Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
As a significant progress for Obama's designated cabinet on Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee endorsed Timothy Geithner as U.S. treasury secretary despite his mistakes in paying his taxes.
The nomination was expected to win approval by the full Senate on Monday, since many lawmakers have said that the new president needs a capable and experienced man like Geithner to handle the serious economic crisis the country is suffering now.
More than a dozen of Obama's designated cabinet members have been green-lighted by the Senate since he took office on Jan. 20, and more are expected to be confirmed next week.