November 19, 2008

Group: Daschle Appointment Could Violate Pledge

@ 4:57 pm by Chris Good

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Dachle's (D-S.D.) reported selection as secretary of health and human services could violate one of the pledges set out by President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said this afternoon.

Daschle's work as a public policy advisor in the Washington, DC office of law firm Alston & Bird, the group says, "appears to flatly contradict" an ethics pledge that prohibits political appointees in Obama's new administration from working on regulations and policy that could affect their previous employers of the past two years.

Among other issues, Daschle advises Alston & Bird's clients on healthcare–an area of policy that can fall under the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) purview–according to the law firm's website. Daschle joined the firm in May 2008, according to Alston & Bird's site.

Public Citizen says that appears to contradict this pledge, outlined on the ethics page of Obama's transition website under the heading "Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence":

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in the Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

The same pledge appeared in identical language on Obama's campaign website.  The ethics page of Obama's transition site presents much of the same language as its campaign analogue.

Public Citizen outlined the above information today on a website it runs aimed at tracking Obama's transition into the White House.

Whether the pledge applies to Daschle seems to depend on whether HHS policy and regulations "directly and substantially relate" to Alston & Bird, and on the distinction between "employer" and "client": while Daschle allegedly advises clients on healthcare matters, he is employed by the law firm.

Most discussion of transition ethics has revolved around lobbying, as transition head John Podesta announced rules restricting lobbyists on the transition team earlier this month. Daschle is not a federally registered lobbyist, and his clients are not listed on Alston & Bird's website.

The Hill will update this post if it receives on-the-record comment from the Obama transition team on the question raised by Public Citizen.

UPDATE: Obama's transition team told The Hill that, if appointed to serve in the new administration, Daschle's interests would not be affected by his work for Alston & Bird.

"If he is asked to serve in the Obama Administration, he will represent the interests of the President-elect and not his former clients. While we are still in the process of structuring the ethics rules for an Obama administration, they will meet every commitment made during the campaign," Obama transition spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said.

Cutter also stressed that Daschle is not a lobbyist and his work for Alston & Bird violates none of the transition team rules set out by Podesta earlier this month.

"Based on the commitments that President-elect has made on limiting the influence of lobbyist and special interests and the most far reaching transition ethics rules in history, Sen. Daschle's work at Alston & Bird does not present a bar to his service in the transition. He was not a lobbyist, and he will recuse himself from any work that presents a conflict of interest," Cutter said.

Archived under: Administration, News, Other
Tags: Barack Obama, Public Citizen, Tom Daschle

13 Comments »

1. Remember, the rules and laws don't apply to Democrats.

   Just ask William Jefferson, Barney Frank and Ted Kennedy.

   Comment by NY conservative — November 20, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

2. It would be good to include a little background, please, on Public Citizen. Isn't that Nader's group? How's their credibility these days?

   Comment by ally — November 20, 2008 @ 1:06 pm

3. The degree of overlap between Daschle's former "employment" and his new position is not going to be unique — nor should it be. If anyone from the private sector is selected for a position, the chances are that their current employment is going to be related in some fashion to the area in which they are serving. If you appointed a banker to oversee finance (a logical thing to do) and say that any banking regulations affect all banks and therefore affect his former employer — there will be no one in a position to serve (unless you want the bankers running Agriculture, the farmers overseeing education and so on). — Conflict of interest typically occurs when the individual is in a position to or appears to be in a position to impact their former employer in a way that is different from others in the employer's class. (Therefore a banker shouldn't be in a position to licenses to some banks and denying them to others for several years.) I'm afraid the Obama campaign may have been uncharacteristically less-than-precise in the wording of their standard.

   Comment by Elizabeth — November 20, 2008 @ 1:16 pm

4. Obama violated his pledge about campaign financing. What makes you think anything he says will actually be translated into actions?

   It looks like Obama is finally conceding that experience matters and is turning everything over to the former Clinton administration.

   Change you can believe in!

   Comment by John — November 20, 2008 @ 1:29 pm

5. Must take a lot of courage to insult a man with cancer on the internet.

   Comment by MA Liberal — November 20, 2008 @ 1:47 pm

6. could violate one of the pledges set out by President-elect Barack Obama

   When will you guys grow some hair?
   Daschle's appointment WILL violate Hussein's pledge.

   Comment by Chester Riley — November 20, 2008 @ 2:09 pm

7. Does cancer somehow render one virtuous or above criticism? The embrace of victimhood is demeaning and emasculating; I may not like Ted Kennedy's politics but I wouldn't belittle him by imputing "victim" status to him!

   Comment by MA ex-liberal-who-grew-up — November 20, 2008 @ 2:59 pm

8. Puhleeze, MA Liberal! Must take a lot of idiocy to have a main with brain cancer assisting in national policy decisions. Well, come to think of it, the effect on liberal policy may not be discernible.

   Comment by Greg — November 20, 2008 @ 3:06 pm

9. So the pencil-necked Daschle is back and as looney as ever.

   Sadly, his wife should still be in prison for her ties with Boeing and the leases of aircraft!

   Change we got - change back to the policies of Impeached Slick Willy!

   Comment by appman — November 20, 2008 @ 4:18 pm

10. Meanwhile - let's hope Hic Kennedy has a terribly painful death!

    – Mary Jo

    Comment by Neal — November 20, 2008 @ 4:19 pm

11. This is a non-issue that bitter right wingers will try to trumpet from the four corners. Go ahead guys. Your favored lobbyists are coming off an 8 year long bonanza and Daschle isn't even a lobbyist. You're just mad that Obama appointed someone to spearhead healthcare reform that actually has a chance of getting pushed through Congress. You're irrelevant anyway.

    Comment by Victor Shaw — November 20, 2008 @ 4:33 pm

12. Daschle was a failed and booted out the door senator.

    A great choice for the new Clinton cabinet.

    Comment by appman — November 20, 2008 @ 6:21 pm

13. This is a non-issue that bitter right wingers will try to trumpet from the four corners.

    No, it WOULD have been a non-issue if Obama hadn't made this a source of countless amounts of demagoguery over and over again in his campaign. He brought this on himself. If he hadn't done his whole anti-lobbyist demagoguery thing, THEN it would be a non issue.

    Instead, it shows him to be what he continually claimed he was not: a typical politician.

    Nobody keeps their promises every time. But with Obama, you pretty much know he's just blowing smoke up your a$$. He reverses the second the promise is no longer necessary.

    Comment by cliff — November 20, 2008 @ 7:46 pm

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