WASHINGTON — President Obama tried to turn the page away from the troubled ObamaCare rollout — even as outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius lost a page of her farewell speech at the White House.
“Unfortunately, a page is missing,” Sebelius blurted out in the Rose Garden Friday, in the latest of a series of snafus that seem to have followed her everywhere since people began signing up for ObamaCare last October.
Obama made the event marking Sebelius’ departure into a victory rally, heralding the 7.5 million Americans who have signed up for coverage through new health exchanges.
“I will miss her advice,” Obama claimed, calling her departure a “bittersweet” moment.
He admitted Sebelius got “bumps” and he got “bruises” during the troubled rollout of his signature program, but said Sebelius would “go down in history” for overseeing a massive expansion of health care.
Although he acknowledged the problems with the rollout that Sebelius oversaw, Obama reached back to the early days of her tenure to laud other accomplishments, like dealing with pandemic flu.
“Yes, we lost the first quarter of open enrollment,” Obama said. But Sebelius’ “team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done, and the final score speaks for itself.”
As her replacement, Obama nominated budget chief Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who is well regarded by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate for her role in helping to work out a budget agreement.
“Last time she was confirmed unanimously. I’m assuming nothing much has changed since that time,” Obama said — in a remark hinting at the bumpy Senate confirmation process.
Although Senate Democrats have enough votes to push through her nomination, Republicans can still use the confirmation process to hold hearings, demand documents, and otherwise keep the focus on problems with ObamaCare.
“I hope this is the start of a candid conversation about ObamaCare’s short-comings and the need to protect Medicare for today’s seniors, their children and their grandchildren,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement Thursday night.
Sebelius, a former Kansas governor who served since the early days of the administration, called her job “the most meaningful work I’ve ever been a part of.”