Sebelius dodges question about whether she offered resignation
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday refused to say whether she's offered to resign in the wake of botched rollout of the new Obamacare marketplaces.
"I'm not going to discuss what I talk about with the president," Sebelius said from Miami, where she was promoting the new marketplaces.
Earlier this week at a congressional hearing, Sebelius acknowledged to lawmakers that the launch of HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare website, was "flawed and failed and frustrating." She hasaccepted responsibility for the failed launch, but the White House maintains that President Obama still has confidence in her.
- Obama's "keep your plan" promise labeled "Lie of the Year"
- Sebelius: Back end of HealthCare.gov will be ready in mid-January
"I can tell you that, as I've said in the past, the president has confidence in Secretary Sebelius and appreciates the work that she's done," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday. "And she, like every member of her team engaged in this effort, is focused every day on making fixes to the website."
Once the extent of the Obamacare problems started coming into focus in October, a number of Republicans urged Mr. Obama to call for Sebelius' resignation.
The secretary on Friday also brushed off PolitiFact's declaration that Mr. Obama's assurance that "If you like your health plan, you can keep it" is the "Lie of the Year."
"The statement about keeping your plan was one that is applicable to the vast majority of Americans in the health insurance market,"Sebelius said.
