Daschle Withdraws Nomination as HHS Secretary, Head of White House Office of Health Reform

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) on Tuesday withdrew his nomination as HHS secretary, citing the disclosure of his recent payments of back taxes and interest, the Washington Post's "44" reports (Kornblut/Kane, "44," Washington Post, 2/3). In a statement, Daschle said he did not want to be "a distraction. The focus of Congress should be on the urgent business of moving the president's economic agenda forward" ("The Oval," USA Today, 2/3).

President Obama accepted Daschle's decision to withdraw and in a statement said, "This morning, Tom Daschle asked me to withdraw his nomination," adding, "I accept his decision with sadness and regret." According to Obama, Daschle has "devoted his life to public service and health care reform, so that every American has access to health care they can afford." However, Obama said, "Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged. He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake, and this decision, cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country, from his years in the military to his decades of public service."

Daschle in a statement said being nominated for the post was "one of the signal honors of an improbable career." He said, "But if 30 years of exposure to the challenges inherent in our system has taught me anything, it has taught me that this work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction," adding, "Right now, I am not that leader." Daschle said, "I will not be the architect of America's health care reform, but I remain one of its most fervent supporters" ("44," Washington Post, 2/3). Daschle also will step down from his position as head of the White House Office of Health Reform, according to White House spokesperson Bill Burton. That post did not require Senate confirmation (Zeleny, "The Caucus," New York Times, 2/3).

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said that based on the meeting committee members had with Daschle on Monday, "I'm a little surprised by Sen. Daschle's decision." He added, "I thought he was going to be confirmed." Baucus said that he did not believe Daschle's withdrawal would affect efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system and described the event as a "little blip" on the path toward health reform ("The Oval," USA Today, 2/3). The Wall Street Journal reports that the withdrawal is "a blow to the administration and to one of Mr. Obama's closest friends and political allies, a man he had tapped to spearhead his push for sweeping health reform" (Bendavid et al., Wall Street Journal, 2/3).

Reported Earlier Today
Daschle on Monday met privately with members of the Senate Finance Committee to discuss issues related to the disclosure of his recent payments of back taxes and interest, for which he offered a public apology, the New York Times reports. During the meeting, Daschle for 15 minutes answered questions and acknowledged the political sensitivity of confirmation of a Cabinet member who had not paid his full share of taxes (Hulse/Pear, New York Times, 2/3).

According to Roll Call, "Senate Democrats emerged from the closed-door meeting unified in their support" for Daschle. Baucus said, "Sen. Daschle made mistakes on his taxes, but it was clear they were not intentional" (Stanton/Brady, Roll Call, 2/2). Baucus added that Daschle "remains imminently qualified" to become HHS secretary (Fritze, USA Today, 2/3). In addition, he called Daschle an "invaluable and expert partner" on health care issues (Brady [1], Roll Call, 2/2). Baucus said that he plans to publicly release the information discovered during the committee review of Daschle "as soon as issues listed as outstanding in a draft version shared with committee members last Friday are completed" (Edney, CongressDaily, 2/2).

However, Republicans "remained troubled by the nomination," the Times reports. Panel member Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) said the tax problems warranted more scrutiny. Aides said Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the senior Republican on the committee, also is concerned about potential conflicts of interest because of the large amount of income Daschle received for speaking to and advising health care companies (New York Times, 2/3).

After the meeting, Daschle said, "I would hope that my mistake be viewed in the context of 30 years of public service" (Stanton/Brady, Roll Call, 2/2). In a letter to the committee dated Feb. 1, Daschle wrote, "As you can well imagine, I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors that required me to amend my tax returns. I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them. I will be happy to answer any committee members' questions about these issues" (Goldstein, "Health Blog," Wall Street Journal, 2/2).

Prospects for Confirmation
The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Daschle on Feb. 10 (Brady [2], Roll Call, 2/2). "It appears ... Daschle's tax problems will not have a major impact on his nomination," Roll Call reports. Baucus said that he believes support for Daschle from committee Republicans "will be considerable" (Stanton/Brady, Roll Call, 2/2). According to the Los Angeles Times, Obama appears "to be in little jeopardy of losing his choice to lead his reform campaign," as "few GOP lawmakers have indicated much interest in obstructing the nomination of a man who served alongside them for decades" (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 2/3).

Democrats, with 58 votes in the Senate, are "tentatively optimistic" about the confirmation of Daschle, "while the Republicans now have a week until Mr. Daschle's hearing to decide what stand to take," the Wall Street Journal reports (Bendavid et al., Wall Street Journal, 2/3). However, in "what could be a bad sign for Daschle's chances, some Republicans who were at the meeting declined to comment," according to CQ Today (Armstrong [1], CQ Today, 2/2).

Support From Obama
According to the White House, Obama said that he considers the tax issues "very serious" but believes that Daschle "continues to be the right person for the job" (Armstrong [2], CQ Today, 2/2). Obama added that he "absolutely" continues to support Daschle (Zeleny, "The Caucus," New York Times, 2/2). White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "We still think he's the best person to do health care reform and shepherd a very complicated process through Congress to achieve savings and cut costs for the American people" (AP/Contra Costa Times, 2/2).

Editorials

• New York Times: "When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary" of HHS, "it seemed to be a good choice," given his knowledge and record with health care reform issues, but "new facts have come to light ... that call into question his suitability for the job," which is why "Daschle ought to step aside and let the president choose a less-blemished successor," the Times writes in an editorial. More "troublesome" than Daschle's tax issues are his "financial ties to major players in the health care industry," according to the Times. The editorial continues, "Daschle is another in a long line of politicians who move cozily between government and industry" and although it remains unknown whether "his industry ties would influence his judgments on health issues, ... they could potentially throw a cloud over health care reform." The editorial concludes, "Daschle could clear the atmosphere by withdrawing his name" (New York Times, 2/3).
  
  
• Washington Post: "The tax problems plaguing the nomination of [Daschle] ... are troubling," and despite the fact that "there is no evidence of willful evasion, ... it is difficult to understand how [someone] of [his] sophistication could have blundered in this way," a Post editorial states. However, the editorial continues, "Daschle deserves to be judged also on the basis of his long career in public service and his knowledge of and interest in health care reform." The editorial concludes that, "if Mr. Obama still wants Mr. Daschle in the job, ... based on the record known so far he's entitled to have him" (Washington Post, 2/3).