Killefer withdraws as first federal performance officer

Nancy Killefer asked President Barack Obama to withdraw her name for consideration today as the government’s first chief performance officer because of questions about her taxes.

In a brief letter to Obama, she said a personal issue related to the District of Columbia's unemployment taxes “could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid.”

Obama created the CPO position to bring more accountability and transparency to federal agencies and their programs and help reform the federal budget. He named Killefer to the position Jan. 7 and also nominated her to be deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.

Killefer is the third person Obama has nominated who has admitted to tax problems. Timothy Geithner, who was confirmed last week as Treasury secretary, and Tom Daschle, the president’s choice for Health and Human Services secretary, revealed tax problems and withdrew his nomination today. Published reports from the Associated Press indicate that Killefer had resolved the issues related to employment taxes for household help in 2005.

Obama has described Killefer as “an expert in streamlining processes and wringing out inefficiencies so that taxpayers and consumers get more for their money.”

Killefer has been a senior director at McKinsey and Co. and previously served as the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for management, its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.