Tom Daschle Withdraws Nomination for HHS Secretary

Posted by Staff, AlterNet at 10:13 AM on February 3, 2009.

From Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake:

It was the right thing to do.  And it speaks really well of Obama that he didn't put personal loyalty above principle.

More from Sam Stein Rachel Weiner at HuffPo:

Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination on Tuesday to be President Barack Obama's Health and Human Services secretary, faced with problems over back taxes and potential conflicts of interest.

"Now we must move forward," Obama said in a written statement accepting Daschle's surprise request to be removed from consideration. A day earlier, Obama had said he "absolutely" stood by Daschle.

Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader and a strong backer of Obama's presidential bid, said he would have been unable to operate "with the full faith of Congress and the American people."

"I am not that leader, and will not be a distraction" to Obama's agenda, he said.

Moments after the news was announced, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News said she had just spoken to Daschle, who told her, "I read the New York Times this morning and I realized that I can't pass health care if I am too much of a distraction ... I called the president this morning." Mitchell described the call as emotional, and said Daschle was near tears.

The stunning news of Daschle's withdrawal came before Obama had conducted his planned Oval Office interviews with five television news outlets, the White House press office confirmed. The goal of those interviews was to help drum up support for the stimulus. Now it seems likely that Obama will be spending much of his time talking about the tax problems of three of his appointees and the withdrawal of one of his earliest supporters.

"I was a little stunned. I thought he was going to get confirmed," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel that would have voted on Daschle's nomination. "It's regrettable. He's a very good man."

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Daschle's former Democratic colleagues had rallied to his defense in the wake of questions about his failure to fully pay his taxes from 2005 through 2007. Last month, Daschle paid $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest.

"Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged," Obama said. "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."

Daschle also was facing questions about potential conflicts of interests related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests. Daschle also provided advice to health insurers and hospitals through his post-Senate work at a law firm.

It all proved too bitter a pill for senators to swallow, even for a former member of their club. Last week, the Senate confirmed Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary despite his tax problems.

The controversy also has undercut Obama's promise to run a more ethical, responsible and special interest-free administration.

The withdrawal came after Republicans and major newspapers had been questioning Obama's initial decision to stick with Daschle.

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said Obama was "losing credibility" with his statements in support of Daschle. "Part of leadership is recognizing when there has been a mistake made and responding quickly," the Republican said.

In an editorial, The New York Times described Daschle's ability to move "cozily between government and industry" as a cloud over any role he might play in changing the nation's health care system.

The Chicago Tribune opined that "Daschle is dispensable" and suggested that "to proclaim high standards and then suspend them exposes Obama to charges that he is either hypocritical or obtuse."

In a letter released Monday, Daschle sought to explain how he overlooked taxes on income for consulting work and the use of a car service. He also deducted more in charitable contributions than he should have. He also met with Senate Finance Committee members behind closed doors.

"It was completely inadvertent, but that's no excuse," he said. "I apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues and to the American people."

Some senators laid the blame for Daschle's tax woes on his employers rather than on Daschle. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the friend that provided him with a chauffeur service for three years, Leo Hindery Jr., should have given Daschle a tax form that would make clear the service was to be treated as income.

Daschle began the day apologizing for his failure to fully pay his taxes from 2005 through 2007. He capped it off that way as well after meeting with the committee behind closed doors.

Tagged as: obama, withdrawal, health care reform, tom daschle