Here’s a look into the life of former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
Personal:
Birth date: December 9, 1947
Birth place: Aberdeen, South Dakota
Birth name: Thomas Andrew Daschle
Father: Sebastian Daschle
Mother: Betty Daschle
Marriages: Linda (Hall) Daschle (1984-present); Laurie (Fulton) Daschle (divorced in 1983)
Children: with Laurie Daschle: Kelly, Nathan and Lindsay
Education: South Dakota State University, B.A. in Political Science, 1969
Military: US Air Force, 1969-1972
Timeline:
1969-1972 – Serves in the Air Force as an intelligence officer in the Strategic Air Command.
1973-1977 – Aide to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.
1978 – Elected to the US House of Representatives in a hotly contested race. After numerous recounts, Daschle is declared the winner over Leo K. Thorsness by 105 votes.
1982 – Is re-elected to House with 51.6% of the vote.
1984 – Is re-elected to House with 57.4% of the vote.
1986 – Is elected to the US Senate with 51.6% of the vote, the exact same result as 1982.
1989-1999 – Serves as co-chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee with George Mitchell of Maine (1989-95) and Harry Reid of Nevada (1995-99).
1992 – Re-elected to the Senate with 64.9% of the vote.
1995-2001 – Serves as Senate minority leader, succeeding George Mitchell (D-ME).
1995-2005 – Serves as chairman of the Senate Democratic Conference.
1995 – Is involved in a scandal concerning the Federal Aviation Administration and B&L Aviation, a small airline whose owner was a family friend. The incident is later cleared by the Transportation Department and the Senate Ethics Committee.
1996 – Co-chairs the Democratic National Convention with Richard Gephardt, the Democratic House minority leader.
1998 – Re-elected to a third term in the Senate with 62.1% of the vote.
June 6, 2001 – Becomes Senate majority leader by one vote after Jim Jeffords quits the Republican Party.
October 2001 – A Daschle aide opens a letter containing anthrax. The Hart Senate Building staff are evacuated, tested for anthrax, and given a 60-day supply of antibiotics.
January 2003-2005 – Serves as Senate minority leader.
January 7, 2003 – Daschle announces that he will not be running for president in 2004 and will remain in the Senate.
November 2, 2004 – Loses his Senate seat to Republican John Thune by a vote of 49% to 51%.
March 5, 2005-2009 – Serves as special public policy adviser at the Washington branch of law firm Alston & Bird.
December 2, 2006 – Announces that he will not be running for president in 2008.
2007 – Co-founds the Bipartisan Policy Center with George Mitchell, Bob Dole and Howard Baker.
December 11, 2008 – President-elect Barack Obama nominates Daschle to be secretary of health and human services and director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
January 8, 2009 – Confirmation hearings for Daschle begin in the Senate.
February 2, 2009 – In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, Daschle admits to errors on his tax returns. The issue involves Daschle’s use of a car and driver he didn’t disclose on his income taxes, and nonpayment of taxes on more than $80,000 he earned in consulting fees after leaving the Senate. He paid $146,000 in back taxes and interest to correct the errors.
February 3, 2009 – Announces that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as secretary of health and human services.
2013 – Publishes “The US Senate: Fundamentals of American Government.”
November 18, 2009-October 2014 – Senior policy adviser for business law firm DLA Piper.
October 2014 – Daschle leaves DLA Piper and forms The Daschle Group, a public policy advisory of the Baker Donelson law firm.
November 2, 2017 – Daschle and his son, Nathan are named two of Capitol Hill’s top lobbyists in 2017.
