Nannygate Nabs Another Nominee

The revelation that President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to be Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny and failed to pay Social Security taxes on her salary until he was nominated is only the latest in a string of similar discoveries concerning Cabinet nominees dating back at least fifteen years to the first Clinton Administration. Obama tried to dismiss Geithner's problems today, as all presidents-elect do; but also like past presidents-elect, Obama may find that nanny problems are particularly difficult for Cabinet nominees to overcome.

President Clinton's first two nominees to serve as Attorney General were felled by irregularities with their domestic help. Zoe Baird, the first of the two, had hired an illegal immigrant as a nanny and neglected to pay Social Security taxes on the nanny's salary. Incredibly, after Baird was forced to withdraw, Clinton nominated Kimba Wood, who was found to have nearly the exact same problem. Eight years later, President George W. Bush's nominee to head up the Labor Department, Linda Chavez, withdrew her name when it became known that she had allowed an illegal immigrant to live in her home and had paid her to perform odd jobs. In his second term, Bernard Kerik, President Bush's nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security, withdrew after his nanny problems became public. Kerik was later found to have more pressing legal concerns, but it was the nanny problems that forced him out.

Geithner's problems are at least as serious as those that ended the nominations of past Cabinet appointees. Geithner employed an immigrant with working papers as a nanny, but those papers expired while she was in Geithner's employ, making her continued stay in the country illegal. There is also some question about whether he paid Social Security and Medicare taxes during her employment. Separately, Geithner admitted to making an unexplained, "common tax mistake," from 2001-2004 while working for the International Monetary Fund. Geithner has since paid all back taxes owed, but he did not admit the error or pay the taxes until after his nomination by President-elect Obama.

Furthermore, Geithner's nomination to lead the Treasury Department may work against him. As the nation's would-be chief financial officer and current president of the New York Federal Reserve bank, Geithner should face special scrutiny for his personal financial dealings. He is and should be expected to be aware of all tax rules and to abide by them. No less is expected of any other citizen. As a potential Cabinet member, Geithner is and should be expected to take special caution not to violate laws such as those against employing illegal immigrants. Geithner's problems are deeper than President-elect Obama suspects. It would not be a surprise if Geithner withdraws his name from the nomination process by early next week.