President Obama’s point person on the Affordable Care Act has resigned, a victim of the disastrous performance of the federal Obamacare web site.
Kathleen Sebelius, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, will be replaced by Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, an economist with little hands-on experience in the health care field.
The resignation of Sebelius (pictured) was not a surprise as a top-level administrator was expected to take the fall for the botched Obamacare rollout. The former Kansas governor was the face of the health-care-reform initiative and a frequent target of Republican ire.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said: “From day one, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has remained laser-focused on a single purpose: to make health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. Her leadership has been forceful, effective, and essential.”
Pelosi added that Sebelius’ legacy “will be found in the 7.5 million Americans signed up on the marketplaces so far, the 3.1 million people covered on their parents’ plans, and the millions more gaining coverage through the expansion of Medicaid.”
The GOP said a new leader at HHS would not fix a flawed law.
The White House chief of staff, Denis McDonough, told the New York Times that Sebelius “does hope — all of us hope — that we can get beyond the partisan sniping.” The replacement, or absence of Sebelius, may provide some relief to Democrats facing midterm elections.
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