Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that the White House must fire someone — or possibly even a group of people — over the “botched” ObamaCare rollout.
{mosads}“I think longer term, in terms of credibility, I think they’re going to have to give people confidence, not just in healthcare, but in other aspects of government,” Gibbs said on NBC’s “Today.” “I think they’re going to have to hold someone accountable for the botched rollout and the website not working — someone at HHS or a group of people at CMS.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which is under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the primary agency tasked with implementing the Affordable Care Act.
Dozens of lawmakers have called for embattled HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to resign, and she’s had to join her colleagues at the CMS, most notably administrator Marilyn Tavenner, on Capitol Hill for testimony in front of angry lawmakers.
But to date, no one has stepped down because of a direct connection to the bungled launch.
“I think if this were to happen in the private sector, somebody would have probably already lost their job,” Gibbs continued. “I think the only way to restore ultimate confidence going forward is to make sure whoever was in charge of this isn’t in charge the long-term healthcare plan.”
On Sunday, ABC’s Jonathan Karl reported that the White House is likely to make changes once things are running smoother, but that President Obama believes acting now would be counter-productive.
Karl Rove ridiculed that strategy over Twitter on Monday.