President Barack Obama's third nominee for the job of Commerce Secretary won the unanimous support of the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday. “I urge quick action by the full Senate,” committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (Democrat from West Virginia) said after the vote approving former Governor Gary Locke's nomination. Locke was the first Chinese-American governor of Washington state between 1997 and 2004. Washington is often called the country's most export-dependent state. The commerce secretary post has been a particularly tough position for Obama to fill. His first nominee, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (Democrat), withdrew after questions were raised about a corruption probe. His second nominee, Republican Senator Judd Gregg (New Hampshire), withdrew after deciding he was not ideologically aligned with Obama.
