40 Facts About Tom Daschle

Thomas Andrew Daschle is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005.

Tom Daschle was an early supporter of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, and was nominated by President-elect Obama for the position of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services after the 2008 election.

However, Tom Daschle withdrew his name on February 3,2009, amid a growing controversy over his failure to properly report and pay income taxes.

Tom Daschle is currently working for The Daschle Group, a Public Policy Advisory of Baker Donelson, a large law firm and lobbying group.

Tom Daschle grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family, the eldest of four brothers.

From 1969 to 1972, Tom Daschle served in the United States Air Force as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command.

In 1978 Tom 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.

Tom Daschle served four terms in the House of Representatives and quickly became a part of the Democratic leadership.

In 1986, Tom Daschle was elected to the US Senate in a close victory over incumbent Republican James Abdnor.

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; this returned control of the body to the Democrats and Tom Daschle again became majority leader.

Tom 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.

In October 2001, while he was the Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle's office received a letter containing anthrax, becoming a target of the 2001 anthrax attacks.

In 1999 and 2003, Tom Daschle voted in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion, and supported legislation making it a crime to harm an unborn child when someone attacks a pregnant woman.

In 2003, Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Carlson reportedly wrote to Tom Daschle, criticizing his stance on abortion as conflicting with Roman Catholic teaching, and stating that Tom Daschle should no longer identify himself as a Catholic.

Some polls showed either Thune or Tom Daschle leading by extremely slim margins.

Tom Daschle was recruited by the former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

Tom Daschle was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

In 2003, Tom Daschle received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Senator Bill Frist.

In May 2011, Tom Daschle was further honored with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Northern State University in his hometown of Aberdeen.

In late September 2005, Tom 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.

Tom Daschle continued to keep a relatively high-profile among Democratic interest groups.

Tom 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.

Tom Daschle served as vice chair of the board of directors of National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Tom Daschle is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.

Tom Daschle is the co-chair of the national advisory board at the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

In 2019, Tom Daschle was named to the advisory board of Northern Swan Holdings Inc.

In 2021, Tom 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.

In January 2005, having suggested that Obama take on some of his staffers, Tom Daschle exited the Senate just as Obama entered.

On November 19,2008, the press reported that Tom Daschle had accepted Obama's offer to be nominated for Health and Human Services Secretary.

Tom Daschle's selection was announced at a news conference with Obama on December 11,2008.

When Tom Daschle was officially nominated for his Cabinet position on January 20,2009, confirmation by the Senate was required.

Tom 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.

Tom Daschle reportedly did not declare this service on his annual tax forms as required by law.

Tom Daschle reportedly 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 Tom Daschle's accountant in December 2008.

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

Tom Daschle co-wrote the 2008 book Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.

Tom Daschle served as a panelist on the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a body that recommended changes to US policy to strengthen national biodefense.

Tom 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-US Ambassador to Denmark, ended in divorce.

Tom Daschle's 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.