White House may abandon health czar post

Politico reports:

The White House is considering dumping its newly created Office of Health Reform, a White House official said Friday.

President Barack Obama chose former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to be the first director of the office and his secretary of Health and Human Services. The arrangement would have given Daschle a double-barreled position to push Obama’s health reform agenda.

But when tax problems forced Daschle to withdraw this month, he also resigned the White House post. Since then, observers have wondered if the administration would keep an office seemingly custom-tailored for Daschle, or scrap it.