SecretaTom Daschle

Secretary of Health & Human Services

Status: Named; needs to be formally nominated and confirmed by Senate

About Tom Daschle

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will pull double duty in the Obama administration, where he will serve not only as the Health and Human Services secretary but also oversee a new White House Office of Health Reform. The additional appointment makes it clear that Mr. Daschle will coordinate efforts within the administration to overhaul the nation's health care system. He needs to be formally nominated and approved by Senate.

Mr. Daschle, a skilled Capitol Hill navigator, will use his leverage with key groups in a bid to obtain universal health care. The former South Dakota senator, who's written a book about the health-care crisis, brings knowledge about how to move legislation through Congress.

Jeanne Lambrew, who helped Mr. Daschle write his book, will serve as deputy director of the new White House health policy office. She also worked on this issue at the White House during the Clinton administration and currently serves as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.