Daschle pulls out as Health and Human Services nominee

The GOP was going to fight this nominationsince Geither made it through with no problems after announcing his tax issues.

Daschle was going to be the point man on the health care plan. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here. It’s also interesting to see just how many lawmakers have serious problems paying taxes. That right, everyone. These people are our public servants.

From the link:

Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination on Tuesday as President Obama’s nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department, a decision that came one day after Mr. Obama declared that he would stand behind Mr. Daschle as problems over unpaid taxes were scrutinized on Capitol Hill.

“I accept his decision with sadness and regret,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.

The decision to withdraw his nomination as a member of the Obama cabinet comes as the White House battled across several fronts on Tuesday with tax problems of the president’s top political appointees. Mr. Daschle had expressed regret for not paying about $140,000 in back taxes, but on Monday vowed to press ahead.

The move came as a surprise on Capitol Hill, where Democratic senators had rallied behind Mr. Daschle. It is the highest-level political casualty of the young Obama administration.