Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Resigns
For months Republicans have called on Kathleen Sebelius to step down. They claimed her incompetence made an already bad policy, in their eyes, even worse by botching up the roll out of the health care website. Despite her attempts to remedy the roll out and reassure citizens that the website and law will help them, Sebelius announced she will be resigning to the surprise of everyone.
On Thursday, after testifying before a congressional hearing in which she announced that sign ups on healthcare.gov had exceeded more than 7.5 million, the Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation. The 65-year-old former Kansas governor endured her toughest time in October and the subsequent months following the launch of healthcare.gov and the problems that arose, according to Politico. The Secretary took the blame for its initial failure.
According to Politico, Sebelius told Obama of her plans to resign in March. She wanted for Obamacare sign ups to get back on track and "that once open enrollment ended it would be the right time to transition the Department to new leadership." House Majority leader Eric Cantor, after hearing the news, tweeted, "I thank Secretary Sebelius for her service. She had an impossible task: nobody can make Obamacare work."
In an announcement made from the Rose Garden, President Obama formally announced Sebelius' departure and nominated her successor, Budget Director Sylvia Matthews Burwell, according to the Washington Post.
"After five years of extraordinary service to our country, and seven and a half million Americans who've signed up for health coverage through the exchanges," Sebelius has earned the right to step down, Obama said.
"Under Kathleen's leadership, the team at HHS turned the corner," he said. "And we are proud of her for that. That's a historic accomplishment."