Sebelius meets with Sens about HHS nomination

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) was in the Senate Tuesday meeting with members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Finance Committee about her nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Leaving a meeting with committee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is back in the Senate until the April recess while battling brain cancer, Sebelius gave an upbeat progress report and said she does not yet know when her confirmation hearings will be held.

“Hopefully soon,” she said. “It’s going well. I think I’ve seen about close to 40 senators so far… There’s a lot of interest in health reform and a lot of interest in the agency itself, which I think is good news.”

Sebelius ran into Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) at a Senate elevator, both of whom embraced her warmly and wished her luck.

– J. Taylor Rushing