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"I have had conversations with Senator Gregg, the White House and U.S. Senate leadership. Senator Gregg has said he would not resign his seat in the U.S. Senate if it changed the balance in the Senate. Based on my discussions, it is clear the White House and Senate leadership understand this as well," Lynch said.

"If President Obama does nominate Senator Gregg to serve as Commerce Secretary, I will name a replacement who will put the people of New Hampshire first and represent New Hampshire effectively in the U.S. Senate," he said. Full statement after the jump

"We are in the midst of a national economic crisis, and it calls for cooperation on all of our parts. We all need to work together to do what is in the best interest of our country and our state.

He's giving interviews tomorrow to network anchors.

With comments!

Stay tuned.

Based on interviews with aides and public documents provided to reporters by the finance committee, here's what is known about former Sen. Tom Daschle, his tax liaibilities, and his disclosures to the friendly White House and to the friendly-but-constitutionally neutral Senate Finance Committee.

What did Daschle know in June of 2008?

There have public reports in June that he knew he had a tax liability; the Daschle team strenuously denies it. In their chronology, June of 2008 was when Daschle first become aware of the potential that he might have had to declare the Hindery driver and car as income. The self-awareness, it seems, came from a conversation about drivers and perks that Daschle participated in during a social event.  After this realization, Daschle notified his personal accountant and asked him to look into the matter.

When did Daschle learn that he'd have to adjust his taxes? 

Unrelated to the car, and during the first phase of the vetting, in late November, Daschle was informed that he improperly deducted certain charitable contributions; in one case, he named an individual, rather than the charitable entity to which the individual belonged, as the recipient of the money; he did not have receipts for other gifts.   On December 2,  Hindery's company, Intermedia, told Daschle that it had neglected to report $83,000 in income Daschle earned to the IRS, so Daschle would have to pay back taxes - although the company took responsibility for the mess-up.

When did Daschle learn that he had to pay taxes on the car?  

In mid-December; after he had been nominated (December 11); Daschle asked his accountant to report back to him on that car thing he had first mentioned in June. Daschle's accountant asked him for information on the duration of his use of the car and said he would calculate the retroactive tax burden for Daschle. 

Was the vetting team aware of the charitable contribution fix and the Intermedia income fix in December? 

Yes.

Was the vetting team - herein a catch-all phrase for the Obama transition team / White House team - aware of the car and driver issue in December? 

No.

Why?

This is a little fuzzy. It's probably because Daschle did not know how much taxes he would have to repay, what the procedure would be, and wanted to essentially tie up the box before he presented it to the relevant Congressional committee;

Shouldn't Daschle have told the Obama inner circle that there was something more amiss than just the Intermedia payment and the charitable contribution fixes?

This is a question for Daschle and for the White House.  Because Daschle would have paid the taxes anyway, he clearly intended to disclose the car issue to his team at some point.  The explanation from Daschle's world is that he wanted to fix the problem, to figure out exactly how much taxes he owed, so that when he turned over his tax documents to the committee, there'd be a complete story to tell with no loose ends.

When did Daschle pay his taxes? 

On Jan. 2.

When did Daschle inform the White House that he had to amend his tax returns to include the use of Hindery's car and driver?

 Jan 4.

Who brought the issue to the attention of the Finance Committee? 

According to the committee and to Daschle aides, it was Daschle and the Obama vetting team who disclosed the information.

But Friday's proceedings also revealed the intraparty divisions that may stifle his efforts to revitalize the party's political operations over the next two years.  Steele's past involvement with the Republican Leadership Council, a socially moderate political action committee, seemed to be very much on the minds of the social conservatives in attendance, who had mostly rallied around the candidacies of Dawson and incumbent chairman Mike Duncan. 

There's "not a problem with [Steele's] own stances [on social issues] so much as the groups he was affiliated with," said Steve Scheffler, a national committeeman from Iowa who was supporting Dawson. Scheffler was disturbed by the RLC's association with "far left of center organizations" in Iowa, including one that supports gay marriage. "I believe in inclusion", he insisted, but was adamant that the RNC's next chairman be sensitive to the fact that the party's "base of activists tends to be conservatives." 

As party officials and volunteers devoured trays of cookies between the third and fourth rounds of voting, I spoke with a committeewoman from a southern state who echoed these concerns.  On condition of anonymity, she admitted she still had strong reservations about Steele's conservative credentials and was pledging her support to Dawson.  She was incredulous when asked if the GOP needed to recalibrate its message after its recent electoral setbacks, citing Republican victories in the Georgia Senate runoff and Louisiana's congressional elections. The party's present difficulties stemmed more from George W. Bush's "top-down approach" than from an absence of support among independents and Reagan Democrats, she said. "We've got to get back to being a bottom-up organization."

The degree to which party members accorded symbolic weight to Steele's victory seemed to reflect this ideological fault line. Michigan state chair Saul Anuzis, a dark horse candidate for chairman who lasted through the fifth round of voting, reiterated the conservative refrain that "rebuilding the party at the grassroots level" should be its greatest priority. "From a Republican standpoint, it's not that big a deal" to finally have an African-American chairman, he told me, citing Steele's "energy" as his most important contribution to the party. "He just happened to be black."  This view was seconded by Hawaii state chair Willis Lee, who had supported Mike Duncan until his withdrawal after the third ballot.  Lee believed that Steele's number one consideration should be "bringing all conservative voters to the table" and that being an African-American was irrelevant to the task.  "Didn't know he was black", he quipped sarcastically. In stark contrast, Jennifer Massour, state chairman of the Massachussetts GOP, said that Steele's first concern should be "outreach to new voters - to youth, minorities, and women".  She said Steele's election was a clear signal that "this is not your grandfather's Republican Party" and represents "the wave of the future" for a more inclusive GOP.  David Johnson, a former Executive Director of the Florida GOP, also saw Steele's success as a potent symbol of inclusion: "Not to borrow a phrase, but this is change we can believe in." 

Like our recently inaugurated President, Steele must negotiate a tortuous balancing act in his new political office.  He will alienate many Republicans if he explicitly invokes identity politics, yet must use the symbolic weight of his chairmanship to increase the party's appeal across a more diverse set of constituencies. "It's unfortunate, because I feel like I'm taking advantage of his minority status", admitted Joe Trillo, a national committeeman from Rhode Island who was an early Steele supporter. Steele's success shows the GOP "is a diverse party," Trillo insisted. "We're tired of being labeled as a bunch of white supremacists." Patt Parker, President of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women, believed the optics of Steele's chairmanship could only help the party in its efforts to challenge the new President.  "When we have to talk to Obama, it will be on an equal basis," she said. As committee members filed in to the ballroom for the fifth round of voting, U.S. Virgin Islands committeeman Holland Redfield lingered by a group of reporters to put a fine point on the challenges that will face the RNC over the next two years. When engaging President Obama and his broad political coalition, Redfield insisted that the Republican Party and its new chairman "should be like porcupines making love - very careful."

Friend --

The economic crisis is growing more serious every day, and the time for action has come.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will jumpstart our economy and put more than 3 million people back to work.

I hope to sign the recovery plan into law in the next few weeks.  But I need your help to spread the word and build support.

It's not enough for this bill to simply pass Congress. Americans need to know how it will affect their lives -- they need to know that help is on the way and that this administration is investing in economic growth and stability.

Governor Tim Kaine has agreed to record a video outlining the recovery plan and answering questions about what it means for your community. You can submit your questions online and then invite your friends, family, and neighbors to watch the video with you at an Economic Recovery House Meeting.

Join thousands of people across the country by hosting or attending an Economic Recovery House Meeting this weekend:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

The stakes are too high to allow partisan politics to get in the way.

That's why I've consulted with Republicans as well as Democrats to put together a plan that will address the crisis we face.

I've also taken steps to ensure an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Once it's passed, you will be able to see how every penny in this plan is being spent.

You can help restore confidence in our economy by making sure your friends, family, and neighbors understand how the recovery plan will impact your community.

Sign up to host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting and submit your question for the video now:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Our ability to come together as a nation in difficult times has never been more important.

I know I can rely on your spirit and resolve as we lead our country to recovery.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

P.S. -- If you can't host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting, you can still submit your questions for Governor Kaine and then share the video with your friends and family this weekend. Learn more here:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Granted, one has much more power than the other. (One is titular, the other is de jure.)

And one may have been chosen in reaction to the other.

But -- for a party that was not too longer ago openly dedicated to a strategy of using racial fears to attract white votes, it's something.

In a short stemwinder, Steele promised to broaden the party's geographic base and "stand proud" as the country's conservative party.

"It's time for something completely different," he said, to cheers.

 "To my friends in the Northeast, get ready baby, we're going to turn it on.  We're going to win in the Northeast.  We're going to continue to win in the South... In the West."

"To those who are ready to obstruct," he warned. "[G]et ready to get knocked over."

Did Republicans choose Steele as a token? Some RNC members will think so, as will many skeptical Democrats.  But Steele won this thing by himself.  The RNC is a fractious, uncooperative bunch. And Steele patiently politicked his way through six ballots. Just a few hours ago, my correspondent Will DiNovi saw Steele and Ohio's Kenneth Blackwell face to face in the hall. "I know we've disagreed on a lot of things," Steele was telling him. Blackwell waited a little -- then he endorsed Steele.

Steele's election won't help the party attrack black voters immediately, but if Steele sets the right tone, he could help the party compete for them in the (way)  future.  As GOP strategists have always known, and noted, somewhat dyspeptically, it's white suburban voters, particularly women, who are responsive to a diversity message. The RNC isn't diverse yet; only five black delegates were chosen to attend the national convention. Steele was disgusted by that. It prompted him to run.

A Democratic strategist sums up their skepticism about Steele's transformative powers. "I remember hiring homeless people to hand out literature in African American neighborhoods. If that is their national strategy to broaden their appeal to minority voters it's going to get awfully expensive," this strategist said.

Steele was a seminarian for a few years before getting his law degree. He is trained in corporate litigation.

On the sixth ballot.

Here's an update from a variety of labor union sources about the White House outreach to this most important Democratic constituency:

Today was the first of several labor action days, with Obama signing executive orders to overturn Bush administration policies. Over the next few months, Obama will sign several executive orders about labor rules, wages, and contract negotiations -- affirmative things, inducements, improvements.  It does appear that card check, what labor really wants, will have to wait. Majority Leader Harry Reid said that it wouldn't come up before the summer. But the summer turns into the fall mightly quickly, and the fall expeditiously turns into 2010, with a slew of gubernatorial, Senate and House races.  Last night, CNBC's John Harwood asked if the White House was pushing for EFCA "rapidly." Biden preferred the word "prudently."

HARWOOD: Couple of other things, quickly. On organized labor, the issue of this Card Check Bill...

Vice Pres. BIDEN: Yeah.

HARWOOD: ...to make union organizing easier is a flashpoint for some in business and labor alike. Is this something that you are--and the administration are nominally for but are going to slow walk, and it's not likely to become law this year or anytime soon? Or is it something that you all are going to try to push for rapidly?

Vice Pres. BIDEN: We're going to try to push for prudently. By that I mean there's only so much on the plate these first couple months. Everyone understands--I think both of us thought 10 months ago that this would be a top-priority item in terms of immediate action. We know there's probably going to be some compromise here. We also know that we have to get more than just Democratic support for this. But we both believe it's very important, making and--taking away the roadblocks that were built up. For example, today when they announce the middle class--I'm probably dating this program, but the--announcing the middle class task force, the president's going to sign four executive orders, and they relate to impediments that executively put in place by the Bush administration making it more difficult for labor to just under the rules that exist--the guys in the striped shirts, you know, calling the--giving them a fair shot at organizing. So we do think making it--taking away the impediments to organization is in the self-interest of labor, but also I believe in the self-interest of economic growth.

HARWOOD: Sounds like that is a 2010 or beyond issue.

Vice Pres. BIDEN: No, no, no, no. This year. This year, we hope. Our expectation is this year, this calendar year, that we will move, and hopefully with some bipartisan support, to dealing with this issue.

While labor supports the stimulus bill and White House priorities in general, they want more spending on direct infrasturcture out of the Senate bill, and will in all likelihood make those differences known if the White House disagrees with them.

Dawson: 69

Anuzis: 20

Ken Blackwell dropped out and endorsed Steele. Anuzis just dropped out.

Holland Redfield, a committeeman from the U.S. Virgin Islands, tells correspondent Will DiNovi that the U.S. territories proved to be a "kingmaker" for Steele. "We're going to push the Republican Party from vanilla to butterschotch," he said. 

Michael Steele: 60

Saul Anuzis: 31

Ken Blackwell: 15