Sebelius: No slam dunk

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: February 18, 2009

Late word tonight has it that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has emerged as the leader of the pack among those being considered to become the next Health and Human Services secretary.

White House officials, stung by the embarrassing withdrawals of at least four picks from Cabinet and senior-level positions, have learned to hedge their bets: President Obama is still considering others—including U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.); Tennessee’s Democratic governor, Phil Bredesen; and former U.S. Sen. (and 2000 presidential candidate) Bill Bradley (D-N.J.)—for the post.

But Sebelius seems to have the edge. And she wouldn’t be a completely unexpected pick. She was a strong supporter of Obama’s, and she is said to have a good personal relationship with him.

And if she is open to leaving Topeka, no one could blame her. After all, her state’s revenue situation is so tight that legislators this week scrambled to move money around to be able to pay state employees on time.

One question about Sebelius, though: Are they sure she’s paid her taxes?

I’m just saying, it might come up.

It’s unclear to me why Sebelius is emerging as the front-runner for HHS chief. Her background is mostly in insurance issues, not health care, and although she’s proposed a few big items as governor, education seems to have been her top priority and where she has left the strongest mark.

In addition, if she is the pick, Sebelius will likely face tough questioning from conservative senators who will want to know more about her relationship with Planned Parenthood, a perennial strong financial supporter of her campaigns, and how that relationship would color her service and priorities as HHS secretary. Kansas has been Ground Zero for some of the hottest battles between the pro-life and pro-choice lobbies over the past few years, and it is no coincidence that George Tiller, by far the most famous practitioner of the late-term abortion procedure known as “partial-birth abortion,“ practices there. (Read the abortion section of Sebelius’s Wiki bio for more background on this issue and how it might play in her confirmation hearings.)

She’s a popular governor with strong ties to Obama, so—her relative inexperience in this policy area notwithstanding—it’s no surprise that her name would float to the top of any HHS chief prospect list.

But make no mistake: She’s no slam-dunk. And that could spell trouble for an administration that could certainly use an easy layup.