In a rare defeat for President Barack Obama, the Senate yesterday called for auto dealers to be excluded from the regulations of a proposed consumer financial protection bureau.

The nonbinding 60-30 vote provides direction to lawmakers as they assemble broad Senate and House bills setting new, sweeping controls on Wall Street. The Senate passed its bill last week; the House acted in December.

The House bill already includes an exemption for auto dealers, who mounted a vigorous lobbying campaign to escape the reach of the legislation. While the Senate bill does not include such an exclusion, yesterday’s vote gives auto dealers an extra measure of leverage to avoid the reach of a consumer entity.

With House-Senate negotiations on the bill expected to conclude next month, the talks provide an opening for a last lobbying thrust before the legislation reaches the president for his signature.