Ex-Foundation Leader Burwell Named U.S. Health Secretary

President Obama is nominating White House budget chief Sylvia Mathews Burwell, a former top official with the Walmart and Bill & Melinda Gates foundations, to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports The New York Times.

If confirmed, the 48-year-old West Virginia native will replace Kathleen Sebelius, who is resigning after presiding over the troubled roll-out of the Affordable Care Act. White House Chief of Staff Denis R. McDonough said of Ms. Burwell’s nomination that the president wanted “a proven manager and relentless implementer” at the agency.

Ms. Burwell was president of the Walmart Foundation when Mr. Obama tapped her to lead the budget office in March 2013. Before joining the Walmart philanthropy in January 2011 she spent 10 years with the Gates foundation, five as its chief operating officer and five leading its global development program, and served in various posts in the Clinton administration.