Obama names Sebelius as HHS nominee

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Image Source: www.governor.ks.gov

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has accepted President Barack Obama's offer to be his nominee for the position of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Sebelius was reelected to a second term as Kansas governor in 2006, and is a two-term state insurance commissioner. As governor, she has proposed "providing health insurance to every uninsured Kansas child from birth to age five in order to give these children a healthy start on life," according to her website.

"She is one of the nation's best and most respected governors," an Obama administration official told the New York Times. "As a former state insurance commissioner, she has a real depth on healthcare. And she has a history of working across party lines."

Sebelius serves on the National Governors Association (NGA)'s executive committee and is co-chair of the NGA's initiative, Securing a Clean Energy Future. Sebelius is the immediate past chair of the Education Commission of the States and as past chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), and currently serves on the DGA executive committee. Sebelius is also the first daughter of a Governor (John Gilligan, Ohio, 1971-1975) in U.S. history to be elected to that same position.

Sebelius is Obama's second choice as HHS secretary, after Sen. Thomas Daschle withdrew from the nomination process after his belated payment of $128,000 in federal taxes.