New White House Chief Of Staff Warns Of ‘Substantial’ Budget Cuts; Draws Line In Sand Regarding Health Law

In comments during Sunday morning's news programs, William Daley, the new White House Chief of Staff, made clear that the administration is not interested in reopening last year's vitriolic health overhaul debate. He also backed away from his earlier criticisms of the measure.

Bloomberg: U.S. Budget To Have Very Substantial Cut, Daley Says
William Daley, the White House chief of staff, said that President Barack Obama will lay out "a very substantial cut" to the budget and that the administration is "not open to refighting" the health-care law. Daley, in an interview recorded yesterday and broadcast on CBS television's "Face the Nation" program today, said controlling the deficit "will take a tremendous amount more" work than the president's Jan. 25 proposal to save about $400 billion over a decade through a five-year freeze in annual appropriations. The freeze wouldn't apply to defense, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the national debt (Brush, 1/30).

Politico: Daley Walks Back Health-Care Criticism
White House chief of staff Bill Daley, making his debut on the Sunday television talk shows, took on his first public task: aligning his old criticisms with his new allegiance to the Obama administration. Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Daley walked back his earlier criticism that the health care legislation - the signature initiative of President Barack Obama's first term - moved the administration too far to the left (Phillip, 1/30).

Roll Call: Daley Explains His Criticism Of Health Care Law
New White House Chief of Staff William Daley sought to clarify Sunday his previous criticism of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law as political, not policy, commentary (Starkey, 1/30).

CNN: Daley Says Obama Ready To Revise Health Care
New White House Chief of Staff William Daley said President Barack Obama is willing to tweak parts of the health care law. "The president has said he's open to changes to this," Daley said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "But he's not in favor of refighting this fight" (Schwarz 1/30).