•WASHINGTON — As the public face of President Barack Obama’s signature health care program, Kathleen Sebelius has become the target for attacks over its botched rollout. Republicans want her to resign, and even some Democrats — while not mentioning Sebelius — say someone should be fired.
The secretary of Health and Human Services has been lampooned on late-night comedy shows, from “The Daily Show” to “Saturday Night Live.”
For months, Sebelius had projected steady confidence that the online health insurance markets would open Oct. 1 as scheduled and that a website that’s the key to public enrollments would be ready. How much and when she knew about the website’s problems are key questions she’ll face Wednesday at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
So far she appears to have Obama’s backing. Officials sat Sebelius in the front row of the audience at a Rose Garden health care event last week.
Also, firing her could be seen as an admission from the White House that the website woes are an indication of broader flaws in the health care law.
