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Killefer Withdraws Nomination

Nancy Killefer on Tuesday withdrew her nomination as government chief performance officer amid a controversy over her failure to pay taxes.

In a short letter to President Barack Obama, Killefer admitted no wrongdoing, saying instead that she was withdrawing because “my personal tax issue of D.C. unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay” that must be avoided.

The Associated Press reported after her nomination that the Washington, D.C., government had placed a tax lien on her house because of a failure to pay taxes on household help. Two other Obama appointees, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who is the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, have admitted a failure to pay their taxes fully. Daschle is under fire for his tax troubles, with at least one Republican Senator calling for him to withdraw his nomination.

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