Daschle To Lead Obama's Healthcare Transition Team

November 19, 2008 3:09 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Obama transition team announced on Wednesday that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle would lead its policy working group on healthcare, fueling reports that the former South Dakota senator had been chosen as Health and Human Services secretary.

"The focus of the Policy Working Groups will be to develop the priority policy proposals and plans from the Obama Campaign for action during the Obama-Biden Administration," a statement from the transition team said.

Seven working groups were created, including one on economic policy and national security. Daniel Tarullo, Georgetown University law professor and former Clinton assistant secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, was named head of the working group on the economy. James Steinberg, former Clinton deputy National Security Advisor and former director at the Brookings Institute, one of Washington's oldest think-tanks, will lead the team on national security.

Daschle, who served as national co-chair of the Obama campaign, has been widely reported as having accepted the post as Health secretary. The 60-year old Democrat told CongressDaily after Obama secured the nomination in June that he would be interested in helping Obama on healthcare reform.

In a book, "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis," published earlier this year, Daschle called for the creation of an independent agency modeled after the Federal Reserve that will oversee the nation's healthcare system