Kathleen Sebelius--the public face of the botched HealthCare.gov rollout--is expected to announce today that she is stepping down from her post as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, according to multiple news outlets, including the Associated Press and the New York Times.
A White House official has confirmed that Sebelius will resign, according to the AP. The Times reports that President Obama accepted Sebelius' resignation this week, and that he will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell as her replacement. Burwell currently serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
RELATED: President Obama nominates Sylvia Mathews Burwell as new HHS secretary
Although critics have long blamed Sebelius for the problems associated with the messy launch of the government website rollout, Obama stood by her for months, and last week the administration boasted that the signups for healthcare insurance reached 7.1 million by deadline day, exceeding expectations.
As a result, Sebelius' departure caught the industry off guard, including Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, who has worked with Sebelius since 1991, according to Bloomberg. Said Praeger: "she seemed like she was in it for the long haul."
Obama approached Sebelius about her future last month, White House Chief of Staff Denis R. McDonough told the Times. According to McDonough, Sebelius targeted March 31--the deadline for sign-ups under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)--as a good "time to transition" leadership.
"She's made clear in other comments publicly that she recognizes that she takes a lot of the incoming," McDonough told the Times. "She does hope--all of us hope--that we can get beyond the partisan sniping."
Obama's decision to replace Sebelius with the 48-year-old Burwell may help temper the continued bickering over the ACA, ABC News reports, as she is well-liked by Republican lawmakers and the Senate unanimously confirmed her last year for her current budget position.
Although Burwell has a low profile, she held several White House and Treasury posts during President Bill Clinton's administration, according to ABC News. She also served as president of Wal-Mart's charitable arm and oversaw the global development program for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
To learn more:
- here's the AP story
- read the New York Times piece
- check out the Bloomberg article
- here's the ABC News article
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FierceHealthcare Senior Editor Ilene MacDonald contributed to this story