President Obama’s crusade for health care reform suffered a setback today when former Senator Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Facing rising scrutiny over his tax records, Daschle has stated that he doesn’t want to be a distraction to the “urgent business of moving the president’s economic agenda forward, including affordable health care for every American.”
Another Obama nominee, Nancy Killefer (who was in line for the chief performance officer post), withdrew from the running due to tax issues early today. Tim Geithner, who has been confirmed as the Obama administration’s treasury secretary, also faced scrutiny over his tax records.
It would be unusual for all of the presidential nominees to fly through their respective confirmation hearings without any bumps in the road. Unfortunately health care is an area where President Obama will need a strong team if he is to make any progress towards his ambitious goal of revamping the health insurance system.
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