Daschle quits to avoid US Senate scrutiny

Former US Senate Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat, South Dakota) has withdrawn his nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in  an embarrassing development for President Barack Obama, who entered the  Senate in the same year as Sen Daschle was defeated in 2004. In a  statement, the former Senate Leader described himself as no longer  having the "full faith of Congress and the American people," which he  said were the pre-requisites for the task of introducing a national  health care system.

Although the final nail in Mr Daschle's nomination chances was a  combination of revelations about $140,000 in federal taxes owed and his  involvement with a non-profit organization that is under investigation  for alleged violations of charitable status, his activities since 2006  as an unofficial lobbyist on health care issues were also a factor.