Obama picks Sebelius for HHS

By Brian Dolan
06:34 pm
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sebeliusLooks like our original post on this was spot on: According to most major media outlets, President Obama has tapped Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be secretary of Health and Human Services. The official announcement is expected to take place Monday. Former Senate leader Tom Daschle was Obama's first nominee, but he bowed out after some $146,000 in unpaid taxes came to light during his Senate confirmation hearings. The debacle led to Obama admitting he had "screwed up."

At the Transforming Healthcare event that took place in Boston last week,  James Roosevelt, Jr., President & CEO of Tufts Health Plan, Democratic National Committee member and key adviser to the Obama transition team noted that Sebelius and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean were both under consideration. Roosevelt poured cold water on the rumor that another likely candidate for the post was John Podesta, President and CEO of American Progress and former White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton. Roosevelt noted that Podesta was leader of Obama's transition team--so he would had been the first pick had he really wanted the job, Roosevelt said.

According to CNN, Obama seriously considered Sebelius to be his vice-presidential nominee, too.

Read this Washington Post article for more on Sebelius.

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