Some Republicans have called for Sebelius to resign. | M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Sebelius offers to testify on ACA

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is expected to testify before Congress about the rocky Obamacare rollout a week from Wednesday, House Republicans announced late Monday, just hours after House Speaker John Boehner slammed the White House for skipping an earlier hearing scheduled for this Thursday.

A few hours after Sebelius signaled she was willing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at a “mutually agreeable date,” the committee announced she was “expected” on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Her testimony would come a few days after the lead contractors working on the balky Obamacare enrollment system — CGI and QSSI — testify before the same committee.


Republicans had sharply criticized Sebelius both for the magnitude of the problems with the HealthCare.gov Obamacare website and for her refusal to testify this week. Boehner had urged President Barack Obama to force her to rearrange her schedule to appear this Thursday.

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The administration pushed back, noting that Sebelius had “always indicated to the committee that she intended to testify.” She just couldn’t do it this Thursday because of a commitment in Phoenix, HHS said.

But later in the day, the two sides moved closer to a date.

Some Republicans have called for her resignation, and Democrats agree she will have to address questions. Sen. Dick Durbin, the second ranking Senate Democrat, said over the weekend that she’d eventually have to appear on the Hill. Republicans repeatedly pointed out that she had, just days before the hearing was scheduled, found time to appear on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” — where host Jon Stewart lambasted her.

“The rollout has been a complete mess, beyond the worst case scenario, and yet those administration officials responsible have indicated they will not be available to testify next week,” Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said in a statement last week. “This is wholly unacceptable. Secretary Sebelius had time for Jon Stewart, and we expect her to have time for Congress.”

The GOP made clear what their approach will be: using the full acronym for the health law, they titled the Thursday hearing: “PPACA Implementation: Unprepared or Incompetent?”