Daschle set to be health "czar" and lead HHS

The former US Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat, South Dakota), who lost his seat in 2004, has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. The move is subject to ratification by the Senate, although the Associated Press said that background checks into Mr Daschle and his lobbyist wife, Linda Hall Daschle, had not been completed as the Marketletter was going to press. Both are reported to have business links to health care clients.

With a quarter of a century of Senate experience, Mr Daschle is experienced in the political negotiations that major health care reforms will require to pass through Congress. He is also reported to have negotiated direct access to the incoming President as White House health "czar," ensuring that he will lead in drafting any legislative proposals.