Tom Daschle

Daschle was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the son of Elizabeth B. (née Meier) and Sebastian C. Daschle, both of German descent. His paternal grandparents were Volga Germans.{{cite web|last=Reitwiesner|first=William|title=The Ancestors of Tom Daschle|url=http://www.wargs.com/political/daschle.html|access-date=November 6, 2007}} He grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family, the eldest of four brothers.{{refn|group=Note|name=Bottum|As a result of controversy surrounding Daschle's views on abortion, he was ordered by his bishop in 2003 to stop identifying as Catholic.{{cite magazine|last=Bottum|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Bottum (author)|title=Tom Daschle's Duty to Be Morally Coherent|magazine=The Weekly Standard|year=2003|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/559jrrei.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030419034343/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/559jrrei.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 19, 2003|access-date=February 11, 2009}}}}{{cite web|title=Famous Germans from Russia|url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~steeles/gerrus|access-date =November 6, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305213055/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~steeles/gerrus|archive-date=March 5, 2008}}

He attended Central High School in Aberdeen before becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned a B.A. from the Department of Political Science at South Dakota State University in 1969.{{cite news |last1=Lancaster |first1=John |title=Soft-Spoken Daschle Wields Hefty Clout |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/08/soft-spoken-daschle-wields-hefty-clout/d022615c-4ac3-410e-8d68-4711069b0ca9/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=8 April 2001}} While attending South Dakota State University, Daschle became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. From 1969 to 1972, Daschle served in the United States Air Force as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command."[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/common/generic/Sitter_Daschle.htm Senator Thomas A. Daschle]", United States Senate; retrieved February 3, 2009.

In the mid-1970s Daschle was an aide to Senator James Abourezk.{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: Senator Thomas A. Daschle |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/common/generic/Sitter_Daschle.htm |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=www.senate.gov}}

In 1978 Daschle was elected to the United States House of Representatives at the age of 31, winning the race by a margin of 139 votes, following a recount, out of more than 129,000 votes cast.{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1978election.pdf |title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978 |access-date=October 26, 2011}} Daschle served four terms in the House of Representatives and quickly became a part of the Democratic leadership.

Although Daschle was not seeking the vice presidency,{{efn|Daschle would only have been 33 on Inauguration Day in 1981; two years below the Constitutional minimum age of 35 for a President or Vice-President}} he received 10 (0.30%) delegate votes for Vice President of the United States at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=59872 |title=US Vice President – D Convention Race – August 11, 1980 |publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=October 26, 2011}} Several others also received protest votes, but incumbent Vice President Walter Mondale was nevertheless renominated easily.

File:Daschle Portrait.jpg]]

In 1986, Daschle was elected to the U.S. Senate in a close victory over incumbent Republican James Abdnor. In his first year, he was appointed to the Finance Committee.

File:TomDaschle1986Logo.png

In 1994, he was chosen by his colleagues to succeed the retiring Senator George Mitchell as Democratic minority leader. In the history of the Senate, only Lyndon B. Johnson had served fewer years before being elected to lead his party. In addition to the minority leader's post, Daschle served as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. South Dakotans reelected Daschle to the Senate with 62.1% of votes in 1998.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2013-02-12 |title=Tom Daschle Fast Facts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/politics/tom-daschle-fast-facts |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=CNN |language=en}}

At various points in his career, he served on the Veterans Affairs, Indian Affairs, Finance, and Ethics Committees.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

When the 107th Congress commenced on January 3, 2001, the Senate was evenly divided—that is, there were 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Outgoing Vice President Al Gore acted in his constitutional capacity as ex officio President of the Senate, and used his tie-breaking vote to give the Democrats the majority in that chamber. For the next 17 days, Daschle served as Senate Majority Leader.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Upon the commencement of the Bush administration on January 20, 2001, Dick Cheney became president of the senate, thereby returning Democrats to the minority in that body; Daschle reverted to the position of Senate Minority Leader. However, on June 6, 2001, Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced that he was leaving the Senate Republican caucus to become an independent and to caucus with Democrats;Entry for [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000072 James Merrill Jeffords] in the Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress. (Accessed January 30, 2009.) this once again returned control of the body to the Democrats and Daschle again became majority leader.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

{{external media| float = left | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?179312-1/like-time Booknotes interview with Daschle on Like No Other Time, November 30, 2003], C-SPAN}}

Democratic losses in the November 2002 elections returned the party to the minority in the senate in January 2003, and Daschle once more reverted to being minority leader.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Daschle recounted his senate experiences from 2001 to 2003 in his first book, Like No Other Time: The 107th Congress and the Two Years That Changed America Forever, published in 2003.Tom Daschle and Michael D'Orso, Like No Other Time: The 107th Congress and the Two Years That Changed America Forever, Crown, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-4955-4}} With Charles Robbins, he has also written the book The U.S. Senate, part of the Fundamentals of American Government series.{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Dennie |title=Book review: 'The U.S. Senate' by Tom Daschle with Charles Robbins |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/books/2013/03/31/book-review-the-us-senate-by-tom-daschle-with-charles-robbins/60992093007/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |work=The Oklahoman |date=March 31, 2013}}

File:Congressman Tim Johnson Senator Tom Daschle US Capitol 1988.jpg

In October 2001, while he was the Senate Majority Leader, Daschle's office received a letter containing anthrax, becoming a target of the 2001 anthrax attacks.{{Cite news|last1=Revkin|first1=Andrew|title=A Nation Challenged: Tracing The Spores|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 18, 2001|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DC153EF93BA25753C1A9679C8B63}} Some of his staffers were confirmed to have been exposed, as well as several of Senator Russ Feingold's staffers and Capitol police officers.{{Cite news|last1=Stout|first1=David|title=House Will Shut Down Until Tuesday for Anthrax Screening|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 17, 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/national/17CND-ANTH.html?ex=1227243600&en=18449a3d1c502305&ei=5070}} His suite at the Hart Senate Office Building was the focus of an intensive cleanup led by the Environmental Protection Agency.“The Anthrax Cleanup of Capitol Hill.” Documentary by Xin Wang produced by the EPA Alumni Association. [http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=32 Video], [https://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/6C70838638374E92.pdf#page=8 Transcript] (see p8). May 12, 2015.

Daschle has a mixed voting record on abortion-related issues, which led the pro-choice organization NARAL to give him a 50% vote rating.{{cite news|url=http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2004/11/17/harry_reid/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207084842/http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2004/11/17/harry_reid/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 7, 2008|last=Green|first=Michael|title=Gambling on Harry Reid|date=November 17, 2004|work=Salon|access-date=November 20, 2008}}

In 1999 and 2003, Daschle voted in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion,{{USBill|106|S|1692|pipe=Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1999}}, [https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00340 Record Vote No: 340]{{USBill|108|S|3|pipe=Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003}}, [https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00051 Record Vote No: 51] and supported legislation making it a crime to harm an unborn child when someone attacks a pregnant woman.{{cite web|url=http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=B9F090EF-1321-AEAA-D3E4F888F0D20AC6|title=Daschle: Half Full or Half Empty?|last=Winters |first=Michael Sean|date=November 20, 2008 |publisher=America: The National Catholic Weekly|access-date=November 20, 2008}} Investigators into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which included Senator Daschle's Capitol Hill office, suspect that alleged anthrax mailer Bruce Ivins may have chosen to target Daschle over his views on abortion, although Ivins's lawyer disputed this alleged motive.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93385756|title=Anthrax Suspect's Abortion Stance Eyed As Motive|last=Temple-Raston|first=Dina|date=August 7, 2008|publisher=National Public Radio|access-date=November 20, 2008}}

In 2003, Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Carlson reportedly wrote to Daschle, criticizing his stance on abortion as conflicting with Roman Catholic teaching, and stating that Daschle should no longer identify himself as a Catholic.{{cite web |last1=Bottum |first1=J. |title=Tom Daschle's Duty to Be Morally Coherent |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/3814 |website=The Weekly Standard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305140313/http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/3814 |archive-date=5 March 2016}}

{{Main|2004 United States Senate election in South Dakota}}

In the 2004 Senate election, John Thune defeated Daschle by 4,508 votes, 50.6% to 49.4%.{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2004/2004Stat.htm#41 |title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004|publisher=clerk.house.gov|access-date=October 26, 2011}} It was the first time that a Senate party leader had lost a bid for reelection since 1952, when Barry Goldwater defeated Ernest McFarland in Arizona.{{cite book|title=2014 Almanac of American Politics |last2=Barone|first2=Chuck |last1=McCutcheon|first1=Michael|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2013}} Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist visited South Dakota to campaign for Thune, breaking an unwritten tradition that a leader of one party would not actively campaign for the defeat of the other.{{cite news |last1=Dewar |first1=Helen |title=In Break With Tradition, Frist Takes High-Stakes Fight to Daschle's Turf |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/04/19/in-break-with-tradition-frist-takes-high-stakes-fight-to-daschles-turf/cba815ae-8b66-4391-96d5-a0cc5f21fe65/ |access-date=12 October 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=19 April 2004}}

Throughout the campaign, Thune, along with Frist, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Cheney, frequently accused Daschle of being the "chief obstructionist" of Bush's agenda and charged him with using filibusters to unjustly block confirmation of several of Bush's nominees. The Republican candidate also drove home his strong support for the war. In a nationally televised debate on NBC's Meet the Press, Thune accused Daschle of "emboldening the enemy" in his skepticism of the Iraq War.{{cite news|first=Sheryl Gay|last=Stolberg|title=Daschle Defends Iraq Remarks|work=The New York Times|date=September 20, 2004|access-date=November 25, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/politics/20dakota.html}}

When the race began in early 2004, Daschle led by 7% in January and February. By May, his lead was just 2% and summer polls showed a varying number of trends: Daschle or Thune led by no more than 2%, but some polls showed a tie. Throughout September, Daschle led Thune by margins of 2–5% while during the entire month of October into the November 2 election, most polls showed that Thune and Daschle were dead even, usually tied 49–49 among likely voters. Some polls showed either Thune or Daschle leading by extremely slim margins.{{Cite news|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|date=2004-11-03|title=Daschle, Democratic Senate Leader, Is Beaten|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/03/politics/campaign/daschle-democratic-senate-leader-is-beaten.html|access-date=2021-04-08|issn=0362-4331}}

Following his reelection defeat, Daschle took a position with the lobbying arm of the K Street law firm Alston & Bird. Because he was prohibited by law from lobbying for one year after leaving the Senate,See {{usc|18|207}}; this one-year limit was increased in 2007 to two years by [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ081.110 Public Law 110-81], but the higher limit did not apply to Daschle. he instead worked as a "special policy adviser" for the firm.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4555416 |title=Talk of the Nation: Tom Daschle on His New Role as Lobbyist |publisher=NPR |date=March 22, 2005 |access-date=October 26, 2011}}Alston

Alston & Bird's healthcare clients include CVS Caremark, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Abbott Laboratories, and HealthSouth.{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnRK6ZYrsR2I9f2c1cSqskbW0AKAD94I7HA00 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121115408/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnRK6ZYrsR2I9f2c1cSqskbW0AKAD94I7HA00 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2008 |title=Dem officials: Daschle accepts HHS Cabinet post|access-date=November 19, 2008 |first=Kevin |last=Freking |date=November 19, 2008 |agency=Associated Press }} The firm was paid $5.8 million between January and September 2008 to represent companies and associations before Congress and the executive branch, with 60% of that money coming from the healthcare industry.{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPyK3VlmLybE&refer=home |title=Daschle Said to Accept Offer as Health Secretary| access-date=November 19, 2008 |first1=Edwin |last1=Chen|first2=Julianna|last2= Goldman|date=November 19, 2008 |work=Bloomberg }} Daschle was recruited by the former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32604-2005Mar13.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Daschle Moving to K Street | first=Christopher | last=Lee | date=March 14, 2005 | access-date=May 25, 2010}} Daschle's salary from Alston & Bird for the year 2008 was reportedly $2 million.Ceci Connolly, "[https://archive.today/20130209031224/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/01/30/daschle_pays_100k_in_back_taxe.html Daschle Pays $100k in Back Taxes Over Car Travel]", Washington Post, January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)

Daschle was also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In addition, he served as National Co-Chair of ONE Vote ‘08, along with former senator Bill Frist. He and former senators George Mitchell, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions for policy disputes. Daschle is also a co-chair of BPC's Health Project.

In 2003, Daschle received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Senator Bill Frist.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}{{cite news |title=2003 Summit Highlights Photo | url= https://achievement.org/summit/2003/|quote= United States Senators John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Trent Lott, and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle were presented with the Academy’s Gold Medal by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in the historic Caucus Room. }}{{cite news |title=Our History Photo | url= https://achievement.org/our-history/|quote= Actor George Clooney and Senator Tom Daschle chat after the summit symposium and awards ceremony at the U.S. Capitol during the 2003 International Achievement Summit held in Washington, D.C.}}

In May 2005, South Dakota State University, Daschle's alma mater, conferred upon him an honorary doctorate for public service.{{cite web|title=HONORARY DEGREES GIVEN BY SDSU SINCE 1923|url=http://www.sdstate.edu/academic/faculty/facultyawards/honorarydegree/upload/List-of-HONORARY-DEGREES.pdf|website=South Dakota State University|date=2005}} In May 2011, Daschle was further honored with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Northern State University in his hometown of Aberdeen.

In late September 2005, Daschle caught the attention of the media by reactivating his political action committee, changing its name from DASHPAC to New Leadership for America PAC and procuring a speaking slot at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. He continued to keep a relatively high-profile among Democratic interest groups. These moves were interpreted by the media as an exploration of a potential 2008 Presidential candidacy. On December 2, 2006, he announced he would not run for president in 2008.{{cite web | last =Belanger | first =Matt | title =Daschle Will Not Seek Presidency | publisher =Keloland TV | date =December 2, 2006 | url =http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,52869 | access-date =November 6, 2007 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071021152249/http://keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,52869 | archive-date =October 21, 2007 | df =mdy-all }}

In an appearance on Meet the Press on February 12, 2006, Daschle endorsed a controversial warrantless surveillance program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA), explaining that he had been briefed on the program while he was the Democratic leader in the Senate.{{cite news | last =Pincus | first =Walter | title =Spying Necessary, Democrats Say | newspaper =The Washington Post | date =February 13, 2006 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021201174.html | access-date =November 6, 2007 }}

In addition, Senator Daschle is a member of the board of trustees for the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley.{{cite web |url=http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu/blum-center-developing-economies/blum-center-trustees |title=Trustees |publisher=Blum Center for Developing Economies |access-date=October 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110154336/http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu/blum-center-developing-economies/blum-center-trustees |archive-date=November 10, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} The center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.blumcenter.berkeley.edu

Daschle is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

Daschle also served as vice chair of the board of directors of National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.{{cite web|url=https://www.ndi.org/board-directors |website=NDI.org|access-date=16 October 2014 |title=NDI-Board of Directors|publisher=National Democratic Institute}}

Daschle is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.{{cite web|url=https://www.issueone.org/reformers/|title=Issue One – ReFormers Caucus|website=www.issueone.org|access-date=March 25, 2018}}

Daschle is the co-chair of the national advisory board at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD). The institute was created at the University of Arizona after the 2011 shooting of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords that killed six people and wounded 13 others.

In 2019, Daschle was named to the advisory board of Northern Swan Holdings Inc., a cannabis investment firm.{{cite news |last1=Fugleberg |first1=Jeremy |title=Former Sen. Tom Daschle joins cannabis board, wants to 'loosen the restrictions' |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/business-journal/2019/05/21/former-senator-tom-daschle-joins-board-medical-cannabis-company/3751337002/ |access-date=May 22, 2019 |work=Argus Leader |date=May 21, 2019}} Daschle stated: "I believe it is imperative to loosen the restrictions on cannabis so we can research its properties and fully understand how patients can benefit from its medicinal use."{{cite press release |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Northern Swan Holdings Appoints Former Majority Leader Tom Daschle to Advisory Board |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/20/1827728/0/en/Northern-Swan-Holdings-Appoints-Former-Majority-Leader-Tom-Daschle-to-Advisory-Board.html |location=New York |agency=GlobeNewswire |access-date=May 22, 2019}} In 2020, Daschle endorsed Constitutional Amendment A, a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for recreational use in South Dakota.{{cite news |last1=Sneve |first1=Joe |title=Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle backs legal marijuana in South Dakota |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/10/08/former-u-s-senate-majority-leader-tom-daschle-backs-legal-marijuana-south-dakota/5924182002/ |access-date=October 14, 2020 |work=Argus Leader |date=October 8, 2020}}

In 2021, Daschle co-wrote an op-ed for The Hill criticizing proposed cuts to pandemic preparedness programs, describing them as "unthinkable" in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Todd|first=Deborah|date=2021-07-20|title=After 2020, pandemic preparedness budget cuts should be unthinkable|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/563836-after-2020-pandemic-preparedness-budget-cuts-should-be-unthinkable|access-date=2021-10-23|website=TheHill|language=en}}

File:Tom Daschle 2008 DNC (cropped1).jpg in Denver, Colorado.]]

On February 21, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Daschle, after ruling out a presidential bid of his own in December 2006, had thrown his support behind Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for the 2008 presidential election, saying that Obama "personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country."{{cite web | title =Ex-Senate leader Daschle endorses Obama | publisher =NBC News | date =February 21, 2007 | url =https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17263273 | access-date =November 6, 2007 }}

In January 2005, having suggested that Obama take on some of his staffers, Daschle exited the Senate just as Obama entered. These included Daschle's outgoing chief-of-staff Pete Rouse who helped to create a two-year plan in the Senate that would fast-track Obama for the presidential nomination. Daschle himself told Obama in 2006 that "windows of opportunity for running for the presidency close quickly. And that he should not assume, if he passes up this window, that there will be another."[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/interviews/daschle.html FRONTLINE Interview: The Choice 2008] Retrieved February 5, 2009

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Daschle served as a key advisor to Obama and one of the national co-chairs for Obama's campaign.Margaret Talev, "[https://archive.today/20130129021234/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/56176.html Ex-Senate leader Daschle to serve as HHS head]", McClatchy Newspapers, November 19, 2008. On June 3, 2008, Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary in Daschle's home state of South Dakota, although that night Obama clinched his party's nomination anyway.

Two days later, sources indicated Daschle "is interested in universal health care and might relish serving as HHS secretary."{{cite web | last = McPike | first = Erin | title = Daschle Warm To Obama Health Role | work = NationalJournal.com | date = June 5, 2008 | url = http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cda_20080605_5814.php | access-date = June 7, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080608061311/http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cda_20080605_5814.php | archive-date = June 8, 2008 | df = mdy-all }} In the general election campaign, Daschle continued to consult Obama, campaign for him across swing states, and advise his campaign organization until Obama was ultimately elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

File:20081211 TD ROLLOUT-1136.jpg Barack Obama, speaks to reporters after the announcement of his selection to be Obama's nominee for the position of 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 Health and Human Services Secretary. His selection was announced at a news conference with Obama on December 11, 2008.

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."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. Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for the 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." 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."{{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}}

When Daschle was officially nominated for his Cabinet position on January 20, 2009,[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) confirmation by the Senate was required. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing for Daschle on January 8, 2009.{{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}} A second Senate committee, the Finance Committee, also traditionally reviews HHS Secretary nominees; the committee discussed his nomination behind closed doors on February 2, 2009."[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.)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.)

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."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, January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)Jonathan Weisman, "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123335984751235247 Daschle Paid Back Taxes After Vetting]", Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2009. (Accessed January 31, 2009.) 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—that "something made him think that the car service might be taxable" and he began seeking to remedy the situation.Senate Finance Committee, Draft of "[https://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DraftDaschleReport.pdf Statement Concerning the Nomination of Thomas A. Daschle]" (PDF format), hosted by WSJ.com. (Accessed January 31, 2009.)

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. According to 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.[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/more-daschle-ta.html More Daschle Tax Issues], ABC News, January 30, 2009

The former senator paid the three years of owed taxes and interest—an amount totaling $140,167—in January 2009,Jake Tapper, "[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/more-daschle-ta.html More Daschle Tax Issues]," ABC News, January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 31, 2009.) 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."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.)

On February 3, 2009, Daschle withdrew his nomination,{{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}} saying that he did not wish to be a "distraction" to the Obama agenda.

Daschle co-wrote the 2008 book Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis {{ISBN|9780312383015}}.Tom Daschle, Scott S. Greenberger, and Jeanne M. Lambrew, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis, Thomas Dunne, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-312-38301-5}} He and his co-authors point out that "most of the world’s highest-ranking health-care systems employ some kind of 'single-payer' strategy – that is, the government, directly or through insurers, is responsible for paying doctors, hospitals, and other health-care providers." They argue that a single-payer approach is simple, equitable, provides everyone with the same benefits, and saves billions of dollars through economies of scale and simplified administration. They concede that implementing a single-payer system in the United States would be "politically problematic" even though some polls show more satisfaction with the single-payer Medicare system than private insurance.Karen Davis, Cathy Schoen, Michelle Doty, and Katie Tenney "[http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w2.311v1/DC1 Medicare Versus Private Insurance: Rhetoric And Reality]", Health Affairs, October 9, 2002. (Accessed June 18, 2009.)

A key element of the single-payer plan that Daschle and his co-authors propose in the book is a new "Federal Health Board" that would establish the framework and fill in the details. The board would somehow be simultaneously "insulated from political pressure" and "accountable to elected officials and the American people." The board would "promote 'high-value' medical care by recommending coverage of those drugs and procedures backed by solid evidence."{{cite web|last=McCanne |first=Don |url=http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2008/12/08/sen-daschles-critical/ |title=Sen. Daschle's "Critical," |publisher=Physicians for a National Health Program |date=December 8, 2008 |access-date=October 26, 2011}} This proposal has been criticized by conservatives and libertarians who argue that such a board will lead to rationing of health care,Michael F. Cannon, "[https://archive.today/20130129164456/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTE1YWYwZTgzOTIyOWQwNTEzZTg4N2U1MTc2NTE4YTI Daschle Care", National Review Online, January 30, 2009. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)]James C. Capretta, "[http://www.thenewatlantis.com/blog/diagnosis/obamas-health-care-czar Obama's Health Care Czar]", New Atlantis: Diagnosis, December 12, 2008. (Accessed January 30, 2009.) and by progressives who believe the board will, as one writer put it, "get defanged by lobbyists immediately."Matthew Holt, "[http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/12/critical-of-cri.html Critical of Critical] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203224239/http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/12/critical-of-cri.html |date=February 3, 2009 }}", December 31, 2008. (Accessed January 30, 2009.)

One of Daschle's co-authors, Jeanne Lambrew, had been slated before his withdrawal to serve as his deputy in the White House Office of Health Reform.

Daschle also served as a panelist on the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a body that recommended changes to U.S. policy to strengthen national biodefense.{{Cite web|url=http://www.biodefensestudy.org/|title=Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense|website=www.biodefensestudy.org|access-date=2017-03-07}} In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33 step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former senator Joe Lieberman and former governor Tom Ridge, the Study Panel assembled in Washington, D.C., for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the vice president authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.

Daschle claims he was asked by vice president Dick Cheney "not to investigate" the events of 9/11.Meet the Press, May 2002, Host Tim Russert, Guest Dick Cheney

He told reporters, "the vice president expressed the concern that a review of what happened on September 11 would take resources and personnel away from the effort in the war on terrorism. I acknowledged that concern, and it is for that reason that the Intelligence Committee is going to begin this effort, trying to limit the scope and the overall review of what happened. But clearly, I think the American people are entitled to know what happened and why."{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/inv.terror.probe/|title=Bush asks Daschle to limit Sept. 11 probes|date=29 January 2002|website=CNN|quote=Tuesday's discussion followed a rare call to Daschle from Vice President Dick Cheney last Friday to make the same request.}}

Daschle has been married to Linda Hall, who was Miss Kansas in 1976, since 1984, one year after his marriage to his first wife, Laurie, later-U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, ended in divorce.{{cite news|last=Drinknard|first=Jim|title=Daschle, lobbyist wife vow to keep careers separate|newspaper=USA Today|date= June 5, 2001|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/june01/2001-06-06-daschle-linda.htm|access-date=December 11, 2008}}

Hall was acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Clinton administration; she is now a Washington lobbyist. Her lobbying clients have included American Airlines, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, Senate lobbying records show.

Tom Daschle has three children from his first marriage: Kelly, Nathan, and Lindsay. Nathan is the CEO of Ruck.us and former executive director of the Democratic Governors Association.[http://democraticgovernors.org/about/387/our-staff "Our Staff" page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321185019/http://democraticgovernors.org/about/387/our-staff |date=March 21, 2009 }}, Democratic Governors Association website; accessed February 3, 2009.

• File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2023){{cite web |url= https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100575204.pdf|title= 令和５年秋の外国人叙勲 受章者名簿|access-date= November 3, 2023|work= Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan}}

• Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120021403/http://www.alston.com/tom_daschle/ Alston + Bird] – Biography of Senator Daschle
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