Killefer is stepping down because of her "personal tax issue of D.C. unemployment tax." A lien on her D.C. home had been removed, but the former head of McKinsey & Co.'s Washington office recognized it would be dicey for a person to take on the “performance czar” job when her performance on tax returns was not exactly top grade. Killefer’s exit is small potatoes compared to the withdrawal of Tom Daschle for consideration as Health and Human Services chief.
The former Senate Majority Leader, who was roasted by the New York Times editorial board today, had forked over $128K in unpaid taxes prior to his official nomination, which is now a huge embarrassment for an administration that pledged “change.”
Of course, Killefer and Daschle were preceded in the tax gyp game by now Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who paid $34K in back taxes before being approved for the job as the nation’s money chief.
Obama’s plan to “smoke out” tax cheats by nominating them to key jobs in his administration is working perfectly. He has only been on the job for two weeks, yet the nation is cheering the news that tax coffers are swelling because anyone even remotely connected to the Obama White House is settling tax accounts. Many more administration jobs must be filled. More tax money is undoubtedly on the way.
Hats off to Obama’s magnificent vetting team. As they used to say in the Bush Administration, “You guys are doing a heckuva job!”
