Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has resigned. The exact reason for her resignation was not given but the rollout and failure of Obamacare since October 1, 2013 no doubt played a major role. It is unknown whether President Obama asked for her resignation or if she left on her own. According to the New York Times, Sebelius was not asked by President Obama to resign and left on her own. It was reported multiple times Sebelius only met with President Obama one time before the federal exchanges launched on Healthcare.gov late last year.
Officials said Ms. Sebelius, 65, made the decision to resign and was not forced out. But the frustration at the White House over her performance had become increasingly clear, as administration aides worried that the crippling problems at HealthCare.gov, the website set up to enroll Americans in insurance exchanges, would result in lasting damage to the president’s legacy.
This announcement comes one week after President Obama announced 7.1 million Obamacare "enrollees" from the White House Rose Garden. During his address, Obama thanked Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin and others but failed to mention Sebelius even though she was sitting in the audience.
President Obama will nominate Office of Budget and Management Director Sylvia Burwell as a replacement, who will face a tough confirmation process in the Senate due to the 2014 elections being just months away.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has released a statement in response to the news:
"Secretary Sebelius oversaw a disastrous rollout of ObamaCare, but anyone can see that there are more problems on the way. The next HHS Secretary will inherit a mess—Americans facing rising costs, families losing their doctors, and an economy weighed down by intrusive regulations. No matter who is in charge of HHS, ObamaCare will continue to be a disaster and will continue to hurt hardworking Americans. It's time for President Obama to admit that Democrats' signature law is a failure and heed Republican calls for patient-centered healthcare reform." – RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
Reaction from Leader Cantor:
I thank Secretary Sebelius for her service. She had an impossible task: nobody can make Obamacare work.
— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) April 10, 2014Updates to follow.
This post has been updated.