WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior White House officials responsible for navigating the administration through a trio of scandals met on Thursday with outside Democratic strategists for advice on how to get past the controversies and back on track advancing the president’s agenda.

The White House is trying to regain the upper hand after being knocked on the defensive over its response to deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the seizure of journalists’ phone records in a Justice Department leak investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday chose a White House budget official to lead the beleaguered Internal Revenue Service and vowed to ensure that the tax-collection agency will not single out any more groups based on their political beliefs.

Danny Werfel, who has been Obama’s point man in overseeing the controversial “sequestration” budget cuts, will tackle the biggest scandal of Obama’s presidency when he takes charge of the IRS on May 22.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday chose a White House budget official to lead the beleaguered Internal Revenue Service temporarily and vowed to ensure that the tax-collection agency will not single out any more groups based on their political beliefs.

Danny Werfel, the controller of the Office of Management and Budget who served as a point man on the controversial automatic spending cuts known as “sequestration,” will start in the new post on May 22.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would install new leadership at the Internal Revenue Service and vowed to ensure that the tax-collection agency will not single out any more groups based on their political beliefs.

As Republicans and conservative groups accused Obama’s administration of using the levers of power to persecute political enemies, Obama raced to get out in front of a scandal that threatens to derail his second-term agenda.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was committed to fully fixing problems at the Internal Revenue Service, saying any employees involved in targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny would be held accountable for their actions.

In a news conference in the White House Rose Garden, Obama also said he did not know about a report by the IRS inspector general on the targeting before it was leaked to the press.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and U.S. lawmakers went on the offensive against sexual assault in the armed forces on Thursday after a rash of scandals discrediting the military’s efforts to stamp it out.

Lawmakers announced legislation that would take responsibility for prosecution of sexual assault cases away from the chain of command, and President Barack Obama called a meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other military leaders to discuss the issue.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday sought to defuse controversy over its handling of last year’s killing of four Americans in Benghazi, releasing emails that show how Obama administration officials presented a scrubbed-down version of the attacks to the public.

The documents gave a glimpse into the administration’s message control as officials carefully debated via email which details U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice should highlight when she went on talk shows five days later to discuss the September 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday sought to defuse controversy over its handling of last year’s killing of Americans in Benghazi, Libya, by releasing emails detailing a back-and-forth discussion inside the administration about how to describe the incident to the public.

President Barack Obama has faced Republican criticism that his administration covered up details of the assault, especially after a news report last week said the emails were edited to omit a CIA warning of an al Qaeda threat.