Dodd Says He Doesn’t Want HHS Job

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), one of the early, leading possibilities to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, took himself out of consideration Tuesday after nominee Tom Daschle’s withdrawal.

Dodd is the second-most senior Democrat on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and is a close friend of the committee’s chairman, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). But Dodd laughed off the possibility when asked about his interest, pointing out that he already chairs the Senate Banking Committee and is the second-most senior majority member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

“No, no, no, I like what I’m doing,” Dodd said. “I’m still frankly upset about Tom and I haven’t given any thought to who his successor would be.”

–J. Taylor Rushing