Editing Tom Daschle (section)

===Obama administration nomination===
[[File:20081211 TD ROLLOUT-1136.jpg|thumb|Daschle, standing with then-[[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Barack Obama]], speaks to reporters after the announcement of his selection to be Obama's nominee for the position of [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Secretary of Health and Human Services]]. (December 11, 2008)]]On November 19, 2008, the press reported that Daschle had accepted Obama's offer to be nominated for [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services Secretary]]. His selection was announced at a news conference with Obama on December 11, 2008.<ref name = PearNYT/>

Some organizations objected to Daschle's selection, arguing that his work at Alston & Bird was tantamount to lobbying and therefore his selection violated Obama's promise to keep special interests out of the White House. According to Ellen Miller, executive director of the [[Sunlight Foundation]], Daschle technically complies with the transition rules against lobbyists but "many power brokers never register as lobbyists, but they are every bit as powerful."<ref name=usatodaynomination>Fredreka Schouten and David Jackson, "[https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-11-19-daschle-health-team_N.htm Obama selects Tom Daschle as health chief]", ''[[USA Today]]'', November 20, 2008.</ref> [[Stephanie Cutter]], a spokeswoman for the [[Presidential transition of Barack Obama|Obama transition]], responded that Daschle's work "does not represent a bar to his service in the transition" since "he was not a lobbyist, and he will recuse himself from any work that presents a conflict of interest."<ref name=usatodaynomination /> Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, praised Daschle on his nomination to Secretary of Health and Human Services for his "deep commitment to securing high-quality, affordable health care for everyone in our nation."<ref>{{cite news|title=Daschle Accepts Health Post in Obama's Cabinet|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/archive/Obama-to-Tap-Tom-Daschle-As-.html|access-date=October 8, 2014|publisher=NBC Washington|date=November 19, 2008}}</ref>

When Daschle was officially nominated for his [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]] position on January 20, 2009,<ref name=thomasnom>[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/nomis.html Presidential Nominations database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201150647/http://thomas.loc.gov/home/nomis.html |date=February 1, 2016 }}, via [[THOMAS]] (accessed January 30, 2009)</ref> [[Advice and consent#United States|confirmation by the Senate]] was required. The Senate [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee]] held a confirmation hearing for Daschle on January 8, 2009.<ref name=thomasnom /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010800469.html?hpid=topnews|title=Obama's pick to lead on health care gets hearing|last=Freking|first=Kevin|date=January 8, 2009|work=in Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|access-date=January 8, 2009}}</ref> A second Senate committee, the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Finance Committee]], also traditionally reviews HHS Secretary nominees; the committee discussed his nomination behind closed doors on February 2, 2009.<ref name=cnntaxes>"[http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/daschle.taxes/index.html Committee to review Daschle taxes over loaned car]," CNN.com, January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)</ref><ref name=nrotaxes>[[Yuval Levin]], "[https://archive.today/20130129135002/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZmYzYjNlMmM1MjM0NzZlMGYzODQ3NzkzOWY2NGRkN2Q More Nominee Tax Troubles]", ''National Review Online'', January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)</ref>

====Withdrawal====
On January 30, 2009, it was reported that Daschle's friendship and business partnership with businessman [[Leo Hindery]] could cause problems for Daschle's Senate confirmation. Daschle has been a paid consultant and advisor to Hindery's [[InterMedia Partners]] since 2005, during which time he received from Hindery access to a [[limousine]] and [[chauffeur]]. Daschle reportedly did not declare this service on his annual tax forms as required by law. A spokeswoman for Daschle said that he "simply and probably naively" considered the use of the car and driver "a generous offer" from Hindery, "a longtime friend."<ref name=washingtonposttaxes /><ref name=cnntaxes /><ref name=abctaxes>[[Jake Tapper]], "[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/bumps-in-the-ro.html Bumps in the Road: Obama's HHS Secretary Nominee Faces Tax Questions Over Car and Driver] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718105724/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/bumps-in-the-ro.html |date=July 18, 2011 }}," [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)</ref><ref name=wsjtaxes>Jonathan Weisman, "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123335984751235247 Daschle Paid Back Taxes After Vetting]", ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', January 31, 2009. (Accessed January 31, 2009.)</ref> Daschle told the Senate Finance Committee that in June 2008—just as he was letting the press know he would like to be HHS secretary in an Obama administration<ref name=nationaljournalhhs />—that "something made him think that the car service might be taxable" and he began seeking to remedy the situation.<ref name=wsjtaxes2>[[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]], Draft of "[https://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DraftDaschleReport.pdf Statement Concerning the Nomination of Thomas A. Daschle]" ([[Portable Document Format|PDF format]]), hosted by [[Wall Street Journal|WSJ.com]]. (Accessed January 31, 2009.)</ref>

Daschle reportedly also did not pay taxes on an additional $83,333 that he earned as a consultant to [[InterMedia Partners]] in 2007; this was discovered by Senator Daschle's accountant in December 2008.<ref name=wsjtaxes2 /> According to [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], Daschle also took tax deductions for $14,963 in donations that he made between 2005 and 2007 to charitable organizations that did not meet the requirements for being tax deductible.<ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/more-daschle-ta.html More Daschle Tax Issues], ABC News, January 30, 2009</ref>

The former senator paid the three years of owed taxes and interest—an amount totaling $140,167—in January 2009,<ref name=abctaxes /><ref name=wsjtaxes /><ref name=wsjtaxes2 /><ref name=abctaxes2>[[Jake Tapper]], "[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/more-daschle-ta.html More Daschle Tax Issues]," [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 31, 2009.)</ref> but still reportedly owed "Medicare taxes equal to 2.9 percent" of the value of the car service he received, amounting to "thousands of dollars in additional unpaid taxes."<ref name=nyttaxes>Carl Hulse and Robert Pear, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/politics/03daschle.html Daschle Apologizes Over Taxes as Allies Give Support]", ''[[New York Times]]'', February 2, 2009. (Accessed February 3, 2009.)</ref>

On February 3, 2009, Daschle withdrew his nomination,<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4450211/Barack-Obama-nominees-forced-to-quit-over-taxes.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206091522/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4450211/Barack-Obama-nominees-forced-to-quit-over-taxes.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 6, 2009 | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=Barack Obama nominees forced to quit over taxes | first=Toby | last=Harnden | date=February 3, 2009 | access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref> saying that he did not wish to be a "distraction" to the Obama agenda.<ref name=daschlewithdrawl />