According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal , Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has accepted the President Obama’s offer to become his Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“This evening, the President asked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to serve as his Secretary of HHS, and she accepted," one administration official said. "The President will formally announce the nomination on Monday afternoon at the White House.”
According to sources, she will not be asked to head the White House Office of Health Care Reform, the dual job that Tom Daschle was going to head.
There are rumors that Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., an Oncologist at the National Instituted of Health (NIH), author of a book on healthcare reform, and brother of the White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is top on the list to head the White House Office on Health Care Reform. At the Fiscal Summit this past Monday, he was present but without a name tag.
Governor Sebelius has a strong track record on healthcare having served two four year terms as State Insurance Commissioner prior to spending the last six years as Governor of Kansas.
Governor Sebelius has experience in passing bills in a divided government and working bi-partisan deals (she is a Democrat from a largely Republican Kansas).
By the president setting up separate offices for healthcare reform and HHS Secretary, the flow of influence will be interesting to watch. The Governor may be in for a bit of a surprise.