Obama names budget chief as health secretary

President Barack Obama on Friday named White House budget chief Sylvia Mathews Burwell to succeed Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services.

“I will miss her advice, I will miss her friendship, I will miss her wit but I am proud to nominate someone to succeed her who holds those same traits in abundance: Sylvia Mathews Burwell,” Obama said during an event with Sebelius and the nominee in the White House Rose Garden.

Sebelius told Obama in early March that she wanted to leave her position when the first period of healthinsurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act ended, the president said.

“And after five years of extraordinary service to our country and 7.5 million Americans who have signed up for health coverage through the exchanges she’s earned that right,” he said.

The resignation of Sebelius and the naming of Burwell comes as Obamacare enters a new phase, after surviving a troubled launch with severe technical failures on the HealthCare.gov Web site.

“Yes, we lost the first quarter of open enrollment period with the problems with HealthCare.gov and they were problems. But under Kathleen’s leadership, her team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done,” Obama said.

Burwell, 48, has shown herself to be an experienced and competent manager as head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Obama said.

“Sylvia is a proven manager, and she knows how to deliver results,” the president said.

“I’m humbled, honored, and excited by the opportunity to build on the achievements that Kathleen, the president, and so many others have put in place,” Burwell said.

Burwell’s nomination requires approval by the Senate.