Tom Daschle Withdraws from Consideration to be
Secretary of Health and Human Services
New York Times, Washington Post editorials may have
tipped the scale against him
Feb. 3, 2009 – Tom Daschle asked President Obama to
withdraw his name for nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human
Services, which was quickly done today around noon. Senate Democrats had
been voicing confidence in his confirmation for the post but it was
apparently newspaper editorials – those in the New York Times and
Washington Post, in particular – that motivated Daschle to withdraw.
HHS Secretary-designate Tom 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.
Editorials
Reportedly Tipped Scale Against Hime
●
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).
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.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) 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 reported. 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 Looked Good
The Senate Finance Committee had 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 reported.
Baucus said that he believed 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, were
"tentatively optimistic" about the confirmation of Daschle, "while the
Republicans now had 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, President 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).
Feb. 3, 2009 – Tom Daschle asked President Obama to
withdraw his name for nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human
Services, which was quickly done today around noon. Senate Democrats had
been voicing confidence in his confirmation for the post but it was
apparently newspaper editorials – those in the New York Times and
Washington Post, in particular – that motivated Daschle to withdraw.