Obama Nominee Killefer Drops Out Over Taxes

Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, has withdrawn her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government, an Obama administration official said today. Killefer is the second major Obama administration nominee to withdraw and the third to have tax problems complicate their nomination.

The administration official said Obama had accepted Killefer's decision and that the 55-year-old executive would explain her reasons for pulling out later today. When her selection was announced on Jan. 7, the AP reported that Washington's local government had filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help. Administration officials have refused to answer questions about the error.