President Barack Obama Friday officially announced the resignation of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, praising her efforts to implement the federal health overhaul and predicting that it would 鈥渂enefit our families and our country for decades to come.鈥�
In a White House ceremony, the president also announced that he plans to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius. News of the transition had leaked Thursday night.
Sebelius, a former Kansas governor and insurance commissioner, was an early supporter of Obama鈥檚, endorsing him during his hard-fought Democratic primary campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton. The president turned to her to run the massive federal agency after his first choice for the job, former Sen. Tom Daschle, ran into confirmation problems. Sebelius became the face of the administration鈥檚 relentless campaign to reform the country鈥檚 health care system, appearing regularly before Capitol Hill panels and traveling the country seeking to win converts to the effort.
But she also became the face of the health law鈥檚 troubled rollout last October when the federal online insurance marketplace, healthcare.gov, suffered numerous technological problems that stymied enrollments and frustrated millions of potential customers. The administration eventually had to call in technology experts, who spent more than a month working around the clock to retool the site, which was relaunched in early December. But the catastrophic rollout threatened to undermine Obama鈥檚 legacy program. It also spurred numerous congressional oversight hearings at which Sebelius was called in to explain what went wrong to both exasperated Republicans and Democrats.
Still, after the recovery of the website,听Obama was able to听announce this month that more than 7 million people had enrolled in health plans on the marketplaces, the same number that the Congressional Budget Office had predicted before the website problems. Sebelius said Thursday enrollment had grown to 7.5 million.
During Friday鈥檚 Rose Garden ceremony, the president acknowledged those troubled days when both he and Sebelius were 鈥渂umped鈥� and 鈥渂ruised.鈥�
鈥淵es, we lost the first quarter of the open enrollment period with the problems with healthcare.gov and there were problems,鈥� the president said. Under Sebelius鈥檚 leadership 鈥渉er team turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done and the final score speaks for itself,鈥� he said.听
The website鈥檚 recovery did not diminish Republican complaints. Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, and Republicans expressed frustration over her inability to provide more data about the people who have signed up for coverage through the marketplaces, or exchanges, and they were angry at the administration鈥檚 decision to postpone key implementation deadlines. Some Republicans, including Sen. Pat Roberts, from her home state of Kansas, have .
Comedians took aim as well, including Daily Show host Jon Stewart. In an听 鈥� when the website was faltering, Stewart pulled a laptop out onto his desk and told Sebelius: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to do a challenge. I鈥檓 going to try and download every movie ever made and you are going to try to sign up for Obamacare 鈥� and we鈥檒l see which happens first.鈥�
Obama said Sebelius told him last month she intended to leave HHS after the open enrollment period ended March 31. In addition to her work on the health law, he praised her effort on a variety of other health care issues, including improving children鈥檚 and maternal health care, expanding mental health care, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, and promoting women鈥檚 health. Sebelius handled these and other challenges, 鈥渙ften without fanfare, often unacknowledged, that have been critical to the health and welfare of the American people,鈥� Obama said.
During her remarks at the Rose Garden ceremony, Sebelius thanked Obama for giving her 鈥渢he opportunity of a lifetime鈥� and noted that both critics and supporters of the law were benefitting from its provisions. 鈥淭hroughout the legislative battles, the Supreme Court challenge, a contentious reelection and years of votes to turn back the clock, we are making progress,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, health is personal. It鈥檚 personal to all of us. Family illnesses and personal health challenges touch us to our core.鈥�
鈥淭he personal reward for me, at the end of the day, are the folks who approach me 鈥� at a meeting, or they pass me a note on a plane or hand me a phone with someone on the other end saying thank you,鈥� Sebelius said. 鈥淭heir stories are so heartening, about finally feeling secure and knowing they can take care of themselves and their families.鈥�
Burwell, Obama鈥檚 nominee to succeed Sebelius, helped the administration navigate the government shutdown in October. She served in the Clinton administration, worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is the former president of the Walmart Foundation.
Almost one year ago, the Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Burwell, which may help her chances for Senate confirmation to head HHS. In a tweet, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that Burwell 鈥渋s an excellent choice to be the next #HHS Secretary.鈥� A recent change in Senate rules allows confirmation of presidential nominees with 51 votes, almost assuring that Burwell be the next HHS secretary since Democrats control the chamber. Burwell, nonetheless, is sure to draw tough questions during her confirmation hearings where Republicans will be eager to point out what they view as flaws in the health law.
Republican reaction to Sebelius鈥� departure was mixed. Some lawmakers said the secretary鈥檚 task was difficult from the start while others welcomed her exit.
鈥淎nybody put in charge of Obamacare would be set up to fail. Secretary Sebelius was asked to promote something unready, poorly structured, and unpopular,鈥� said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. 鈥淪he was given a law that was just about written in pencil the way the deadlines changed all the time. That put her in a position of having a strained relationship with Congress. It鈥檚 disingenuous for the White House to distance itself from the problems and attribute them to partisan sniping at one member of the Administration. The next secretary might have a fresh start with the public and Congress but the flawed law is still the law.鈥�
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, 鈥淪ecretary Sebelius may be leaving, but the problems with this law and the impact it鈥檚 having on our constituents aren鈥檛. Obamacare has to go, too.鈥�
But her service was applauded by Democrats. In a statement Thursday night, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said, 鈥淔or the past five years, I have marveled at Secretary Sebelius鈥檚 grace under pressure. She never backed down from the tremendous responsibilities of her position, which were of a magnitude no other cabinet secretary has ever had to face with regard to domestic policy. 鈥� Not once did she let attacks from both the left and the right deter her from the goal of bringing health care to millions of uninsured Americans, and working to improve the health of people across the nation.鈥�
This is an updated version of a story originally posted听April 10.听