Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, said Friday that the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has nothing to do with politics and is just about her moving on.
“Throughout her time as secretary of HHS, there’s been a lot of heat directed her way,” she said Friday on MSNBC. “She can take the heat, she knew she would be on the hot seat, and she managed through a very tough time for five years.”
Republicans who criticized the rocky rollout of the Affordable Care Act have long been calling for Ms. Sebelius to step down. After she announced her resignation, some GOP leaders tweeted out that simply bringing in a new person wouldn’t fix issues with the health care law.
Ms. Jarrett said Ms. Sebelius told the president in early March that she would step down once the open enrollment period was over because that was the right time for her to move on.
“She finished strong and thought now would be the time to pass the baton on,” Ms. Jarrett said. “What better way to close than knowing you’ve improved the health care for millions and million of Americans around the country?”
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.