Axelrod defends recess appointment of Berwick to head Medicare

Jul 12 2010

ABC News: "This morning on ABC News' 'This Week,' Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod insisted that President Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to be the administrator of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was simply 'too important' to wait for a Congressional hearing" (7/11).

The Hill: Axelrod "brushed off questions about concerns the administration would have had subjecting Berwick to congressional scrutiny, given Berwick's past statements about being 'romantic' about the nationalized healthcare system in Britain and his 2009 statement that 'the decision is not whether or not we will ration care - the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.'"

"'It is very, very clear that this nomination was going to be one that was going to be dragged on and on and on,' Axelrod said, adding that it was 'vital' to fill the position and 'move forward'" (Johnson, 7/11).

Politico: Axelrod struggled while trying to make the point that the appointment "was needed because of a pattern of Republican intransigence toward Obama nominees." ABC host Jake Tapper noted that "Berwick hadn't even had his confirmation hearing after being nominated less than two months ago" and suggested that the administration was concerned that Berwick would be attacked. "Axelrod eventually conceded that the administration was trying to take the issue out of the political fray. 'What we don't want in this midst of an election is to let this be drawn out in a long kind of political circus while the job that needs to be done is not getting done or not getting done with the man who should be doing it,' the Obama adviser said" (Gerstein, 7/11).

Fox News: Axelrod, also on "Fox News Sunday," sought to calm Berwick's critics and said, 'He is not coming to implement the British system,'" and "noting that Berwick has also criticized elements of the British system."

But Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., also on the Fox show, said Republicans are angry about the appointment and Berwick "is not the right man for the job." He "accused the administration of ducking a robust public debate." (7/11). 

KHN has a resource guide detailing Berwick's background, a collection of his speeches and writings and related news coverage, as well as a transcript of his now-controversial speech to the British National Health Service.