Administration Officials Reportedly Preparing to Oust AIDS Czar

Clinton Administration officials are taking the first steps toward ousting Kristine M. Gebbie as the country’s AIDS policy coordinator, sources said Saturday, drawing up a “short list” of candidates to succeed her.

But Administration sources warned that there is “significant tension” within the White House over whether the next AIDS czar should be a charismatic voice who can better sell the program to the public, someone better able to work with Congress, or even whether the post should be abandoned in favor of a special staff position under Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

And until these issues are settled, the sources said, no official announcement about Gebbie’s fate will be forthcoming.

“The White House is determined to get it right this time,” said an Administration source who asked not to be identified. The apparent decision to oust the Oregon nurse has come amid mounting discontent from the AIDS community and Congress.

In a news briefing Friday, White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers was asked whether the President had plans to replace Gebbie. Myers said only that Gebbie “continues to be the AIDS coordinator. The President has confidence in her. He thinks it’s important to have an Administration AIDS coordinator.”

Gebbie was unavailable for comment, but aide John Paul Gurrola dismissed word of such a White House move as rumor-spreading by Gebbie’s critics.

The position of AIDS policy coordinator was created as a result of strong pressure from both activists and public health advocates. Clinton embraced the concept during his campaign and vowed to fill the post upon taking office.

Gebbie, 50, a nurse who had run state health departments in Oregon and the state of Washington, took office Aug. 2. But rather than report to the President, as some had thought she would, the job was set up to report to Clinton domestic policy adviser Carol Rasco.

Gebbie had been on the job barely a month when criticism, at first discreet and now quite blatant, showered upon her.

“She didn’t project an image of leadership in the AIDS crisis,” AIDS activist Mark Harrington said.

Several Washington insiders criticized Gebbie’s alleged ineptitude. An often-cited example involved Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who received a phone call from Gebbie offering full support for efforts to gain passage of 1995 AIDS appropriations. The appropriation bill had been passed the previous day.