Andrea Mitchell: In Our Interview, Sebelius ‘Talked Around’ Whether She Was Fired

GEIST: "Andrea, there's been reporting in the last few weeks and months that the White House had given up on Secretary Sebelius long ago when the website wasn't working well. They didn't want to get rid of her at the time, but that the writing was on the wall at that moment. What is your reporting telling you about how long ago this decision was made?
MITCHELL: "I think that the decision was made within the last couple of months that they needed to do something. Jeff Zients came in, they did bring in the right tech people to fix the website. It is now up and running, they were looking for an exit strategy. I asked her point blank whether she was pushed or jumped and that was her answer -- she talked around it. Clearly they had been talking about the timing and once they reached that 7.1 million -- and that's only enrollees. We don't know how many are going to pay up. There are a lot of hurdles still to come. Nobody envies Sylvia Burwell -- if she is easily confirmed, as they hope -- taking this on."