White House (CNSNews.com) -- Former Democratic Senate leader Tom Daschle withdrew his name from nomination to be President Barack Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services today.
The action occurs after revelations that Daschle failed to pay $128,000 in taxes.
”If 30 years of exposure to the challenge inherent in our system has taught me anything, it has taught me that this work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction," Daschle said in a statement.
"Right now, I am not that leader and will not be a distractuon," he said.
Obama said Daschle's mistake should not diminish his record of public service.
"Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged," Obama said. "He has not excused it, nor do I."
This is the second Obama cabinet nominee to withdraw his name from consideration for a post.
The first was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, nominated to be Commerce Department secretary before withdrawing due to a federal pay-to-play investigation into his New Mexico adminstration.
Daschle's withdrawal comes on the same day Obama named Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as his nominee for Commerce Secretary to replace Richardson.
Obama's Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, had a rocky road to confirmation in the Senate because he had failed to pay $34,000 in taxes.
Like Daschle, Geithner quickly paid his back-taxes.
In addition to the cabinet post, Daschle was also set to be Obama's health care reform "czar" with a White House office.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs declined to talk about any potential nominees to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
He told reporters Monday that Daschle made the decision on his own, and "he did not get a signal" from the White House to withdraw.
He rejected several reporters’ questions that referred to the Obama administration's vetting system as broken.
Responding to several questions on vetting, Gibbs repeatedly said, "The president is confident in the process and is confident in who serves in this administration."