Yesterday President Obama officially nominated Governor Kathleen Sibelius of Kansas as Secretary for Heath and Human Services. The nomination is Obama’s second one for the position, having originally nominated Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Daschle, unfortunately, chose to retract his acceptance of the nomination in the midst of tax controversy. It is interesting that, along with the Sibelius nomination, Obama is also nominating a “Health Czar,” a position he did not include with the Daschle nomination, which means that Sibelius will not assume all of the responsibilities once reserved for HHS secretary.
Having heard Gov. Sibelius speak this summer in Denver, CO, as part of a “Health Care First” panel discussion during the Democratic Convention, I think she is a strong candidate for the position. She spoke right after SEIU president, Andy Stern, and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and right before Daschle at the conference and definitely held her own, perhaps calling for some of the most progressive healthcare improvements.
Here’s a video of her acceptance of the nomination.
