HHS chief rips Gruber for ‘stupidity’ remarks

The head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday strongly condemned comments from former ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber in which he blamed the law’s passage on the “stupidity” of the American voter.

“I was extremely offended by his comments,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell told an audience in Tampa Bay, offering her most critical comments yet about the Obama administration’s former adviser.

“As a public servant for many years,  I have worked on these issues, and I have complete confidence in the American people,” Burwell said, standing beside U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D- Fla.) at an event to promote open enrollment in ObamaCare. Her remarks were recorded by WTSB, a local Gannett affiliate.

Burwell’s criticism of Gruber came one day after she gave her first public remarks about the newly resurfaced videos in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

In that interview, she said she took issue with Gruber’s suggestion that ObamaCare was passed on a premise of deception.

“The law is based on the issues of transparency,” she said Sunday. 

Gruber, a professor at the Massachsuetts Institute of Technology, told MSNBC last week that he regretted the comments, which he said were “inappropriate” and made “off the cuff.” Several Republican lawmakers have said they expect hearings on Capitol Hill to grill Gruber about his remarks.

Supporters of the healthcare law had feared that Gruber’s unearthed comments, which quickly went viral, would distract people from enrolling in the ObamaCare exchanges when they opened Saturday.

Burwell said she was pleased by the sign-ups and the website traffic so far. About 100,000 people have enrolled and about a half-million people logged onto the site the first day, she said.

“We know there will be issues. Whenever we hear about something, we track it down quickly. But we’re excited about where we are today.” Burwell told the group in Florida.