President Barack Obama praised outgoing Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for helping to steer his health care law's comeback after a rocky rollout, even as he nominated a successor aimed at helping the White House move past the political damage.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden stand with outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, second from left, and his nominee to be her replacement, Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden stand with outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, second from left, and his nominee to be her replacement, Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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"Under Kathleen's leadership, her team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done," Obama said in a Rose Garden ceremony Friday morning. "And the final score speaks for itself."

About 7.5 million people have enrolled in the health law, exceeding expectations after website woes stymied sign-ups for weeks.

Obama nominated his budget chief, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to replace Sebelius, calling her "a proven manager" who knows how to get results. The nomination of Burwell, who was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for her current post last year, appeared aimed at avoiding an election-year confirmation fight.

"Last time, she was confirmed unanimously," Obama said. "I'm assuming not much has changed since that time."

Sebelius said the government is making "tremendous progress" toward fixing what she called a broken health system.

The former Kansas governor was blamed for the disastrous start to sign-ups for coverage under Obama's health care law. But the administration rebounded and exceeded expectations by getting more than 7 million people to sign up for health insurance.

Sebelius said her work at HHS is the most meaningful she's ever been a part of. She called it "the cause of my life."

There was one more glitch on her way out the door. Sebelius lost her way while reading her statement, then said: "Unfortunately, a page is missing."

 

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