Former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle has withdrawn his name as the nominee for Secretary of Health & Human Services. He had been the choice of President Barack Obama to steer his new agenda on health care, and his fall from grace is viewed as a blow to the new Obama administration.

Daschle had come under severe criticism for his failure to pay more than $100,000 in back taxes. A previous Obama cabinet appointee, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, also had problems with back taxes. Daschle’s tax issues were on a larger scale, and had drawn media skepticism in the context of Obama’s campaign pledge for high ethical standards in the selection of senior White House officials.

The previous day President Obama had indicated his full support for Tom Daschle as HHS secretary. What led Daschle to pull his name out of contention is a matter of media conjecture. Barack Obama will now have to scramble to find a new pick for this important cabinet position