Senate Panel Clears Sebelius for HHS Post

She's pressed to answer more questions on abortion

(NEWSER) - President Obama will have to wait until at least next week to have a complete Cabinet after Senate Republicans blocked the immediate confirmation of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius yesterday, AP reports. A vote on the Health and Human Services Secretary nominee—whose appointment is fiercely opposed by anti-abortion groups—will now take place after debate next Tuesday, when the Democrats expect to prevail. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama has decided to pick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his health secretary, the New York Times reports. The Democratic governor is now being vetted, and Obama hopes to make the announcement next week when he turns his attention from the economy to health care. One of Sebelius' strengths is her ability to work across party lines, the Times notes. She also served eight years as the insurance chief in Kansas. More»

Mark Parkinson, who turned Dem to run with Sebelius, sworn in

(NEWSER) - With Kathleen Sebelius now confirmed as the country's new health and human services secretary, Kansas has a new governor: Mark Parkinson, a Republican-turned-Democrat who will serve out her term until the end of next year. At a hastily assembled inauguration ceremony Parkinson pledged to alleviate "the real pain that Kansans have suffered" from the economic crisis, reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama is enacting a ghastly brace of pro-choice policies, including weakening "conscience protections" for doctors and adopting the “most radical possible option” on stem cell research, Michael Gerson writes for the Washington Post. And enlisting a Catholic—HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius—to help implement his agenda “smacks of religious humiliation,” writes Gerson, “like asking a rabbi to serve pork roast.” More»

Kansas gov says she's had no meetings on joining the Obama Cabinet

(AP) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, mentioned as a top candidate for health secretary, said today she has not talked with President Barack Obama about joining his Cabinet. "There really isn't anything to tell. I haven't had any meetings about the position," Sebelius, 60, said in an interview with the AP during the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. More»