WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has decided to nominate Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius to head the department of health and human services and will formally announce the decision at a White House ceremony today, a US official said on Saturday.
“This evening, the president asked Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, and she accepted,” the administration official said on condition of anonymity. “The president will formally announce the nomination on Monday afternoon at the White House.”
The announcement came before a planned healthcare summit at the White House on Thursday to discuss ways to reform the US health system, which will cost Americans some $2.5 trillion (€1.98 trillion) this year while leaving about 45 million of them uninsured.
Obama campaigned on a pledge to expand health insurance coverage to most citizens and moved in that direction last week with his first budget blueprint, which calls for a $634 billion reserve fund over 10 years to help pay for reforms.
The president has not offered a specific plan, saying instead that he wanted to work with Congress to formulate the proposals. Ms Sebelius (60) would play a key role in shaping the changes.
“Governor Sebelius brings extraordinary qualifications to this role,” the administration official said.“As a popular two-term governor known for her bipartisan approach, and as an insurance commissioner charged with standing up for better healthcare for her state, the governor has unique insight and experience to draw on as President Obama’s partner in lowering healthcare costs and expanding coverage.”
Ms Sebelius had been considered a top contender for the position since former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination in a controversy over his payment of $140,000 in back personal income taxes.
The Daschle withdrawal was a big blow for Obama, who made healthcare reform a key part of his agenda during the election campaign and was relying on the former Democratic leader to guide his programme through Congress.
Daschle had also been named to oversee a new White House office of health reform, but withdrew from that position also. Someone other than Ms Sebelius is likely to oversee health reform from the White House, the official said.
Ms Sebelius was an early Obama supporter and had been mentioned as a possible contender for the vice-presidency and for several other cabinet posts. As the Democratic governor of a largely Republican state, she has a reputation for working well with both political parties.
“I see in [Obama] the capacity to really reach across party lines and get people together, where people see themselves as Americans once again and not Democrats and Republicans,” she said in an interview last year. – (Reuters)