The Cards Keep Falling

I feel empathy for President Barack Obama tonight: Too many of his nominees for high-level administration posts have failed to pass muster.

The most recent of his hand-picked designees, former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, withdrew his name this afternoon. He was expected to be named to the post of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS). Daschle, a close friend of Obama, was to rewrite health care policy in the U.S. but ran into income tax issues. (His wife, Linda Hall Daschle, is a registered Washington Lobbyist.)

Preceding Daschle, but only by hours, was the decision by Nancy Killefer to also withdraw her name for approval as the Administration’s Chief Performance Officer. This is a newly-created job with the rank of Deputy Director within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Killefer was expected to scrutinize and establish controls over government spending.

Both Daschle and Killefer withdrew their names because questions came up about personal tax obligations. On January 26, however, similar tax problems did not stop the Senate from approving the appointment of Timothy Geithner, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to the job of Treasury Secretary in the Obama Administration.

It seems that just a few days have drastically changed the landscape for Senate approval of Obama nominees to top administration posts. If Geithner were to come up for approval now, it’s unlikely that he would make the cut.

Earlier,in the first week of January, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a strong Obama supporter, also withdrew his name from consideration as Commerce Secretary due to a pending investigation originating in New Mexico. The administration announced today that it now hopes to fill that vacancy with U. S. Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire.

New Jersey is not the only place where ethical problems seem to abound.