Senate Cancels Labor Secretary Nominee's Confirmation Hearing Because of Her Husband's Tax Problems

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee abruptly canceled today's 2:00 p.m. scheduled meeting to consider President Obama's nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis to be Secretary of Labor after USA Today reported that her husband yesterday paid $6,400 to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his L.A. auto repair business:

At a news conference, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said of Solis: "I read the story in USA TODAY and it quotes somebody who works here. Obviously we know about the story. We reviewed her tax returns and her tax returns are in order. Her husband had an issue."

"She's not a partner in that business," Gibbs said. "We're not going to penalize her for her husband's business mistakes."

For more, see Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Hill, InstaPundit, Washington Post.