NEW YORK—only days after David Letterman announced his retirement, CBS has moved quickly to replace him, hiring Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to host the long-running show.

“No one has made us laugh more during this past year than Kathleen Sebelius,” said Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS. “Her track record of practical jokes and absurd humor, always delivered with a straight face, makes her the natural successor to Dave.”

Some critics questioned whether Sebelius’s style was a good fit for late-night television. “While Letterman is known for his top-ten lists and pet tricks, Sebelius is better at long-running satire, like healthcare.gov, or very dry humor, like her claim to Congress that the rollout was going well,” said David Carr of the New York Times.

An as-yet unresolved question was whether Sebelius would host the show in-character as the “Secretary,” her best-known and best-loved persona. “I hope so,” said Carr. “The Secretary is just hilarious.”