Alexander OKd as Arts Endowment Head

WASHINGTON —  The Senate unanimously approved the nomination of award-winning actress Jane Alexander to head the National Endowment for the Arts Wednesday night.

By voice vote and with no debate, the lawmakers confirmed the 53-year-old actress to head a panel that has been a target of criticism in recent years for some of its monetary grants to artists around the country.

Conservatives have accused the endowment of financing offensive works, and radical artists have complained that it doesn’t go far enough.

But Alexander’s nomination cruised easily through the Senate, just a week after she was approved 17 to 0 by the chamber’s Labor and Human Resources Committee.