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- Tom Daschle surprisingly withdrew himself from consideration in Barack Obama's cabinet, reportedly telling the president that a New York Times editorial calling for him to step down convinced him that his tax problems would be a distraction that would hurt the cause of health care reform. The good news for health care reform, as Greg Sargent and Ian Herbert report, is that many of Daschle's acolytes remain embedded in the Obama administration. Perhaps the man wasn't as indispensable as was his network? Also, Ezra's got a list of possible replacements.
- Judd Gregg was nominated for commerce secretary today and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch will name Republican Bonnie Newman as his replacement. Also, CQ Politics reports on Gregg's efforts to eliminate the Department of Commerce in 1995. Call this the Bolton Syndrome -- appointing someone to work with an institution they have nothing but contempt for.
- Eric Holder was sworn in as attorney general today after being confirmed 75-21 by the Senate yesterday.
- Nancy Killefer withdrew herself as a nominee for chief performance officer citing, à la Daschle, that "in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid."
- Tammy Duckworth was nominated for assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She would serve under Erik Shinseki.
- Remember when John McCain was going to return to his 2001-era maverick ways in the Senate, siding with Democrats to spite the party that turned on him? Yeah, me neither. McCain is now using his campaign email list to mobilize support against the economic stimulus plan working its way through the Senate, even though he can't seem to decide whether he's for or against large corporate tax cuts as stimulus.
- Public support for the stimulus plan remains strong, but a significant number of respondents want "major changes" to the package, Gallup finds. Meanwhile, conservatives are still citing incorrect CBO data about the stimulus' affect, ignoring the fact that the latest CBO estimate nakedly claims that 78 percent of the stimulus funds will be spent over the next two fiscal years. Then again, conservative Republicans think taking strategy advice from Samuel Wurzelbacher is a good idea, leading Brian Beutler to conclude that "this sad saga makes me wonder how relevant the debate over the future of the GOP really is. All respect to Ross and Reihan, of course, but it seems pretty clear to me that the conservative movement plans to quadruple down on its 'gin up the crazies' strategy."
--Mori Dinauer
