USA

Obama Nominates Burwell as New US Health Secretary

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, April 11, 2014.

President Barack Obama has nominated his budget director, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to succeed Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary.

The move comes hours after Sebelius announced her resignation following her oversight of the botched rollout of President Obama's signature health care law.

Her resignation comes just a week after enrollment closed for the first year of what is commonly known as Obamacare.

The opening weeks of the enrollment period were marred by widespread website woes, limiting access for millions of people.

Republicans called for Secretary Sebelius' resignation, but Obama publicly supported her.

However, she was conspicuously absent last week when the president announced the enrollment period was ultimately successful. It surpassed the 7 million figure the Obama administration had predicted.

Sebelius, who is 65, is a former governor of Kansas. She has served as head of Health and Human Services for five years.

Burwell's nomination requires confirmation from the Senate.