Prominent leaders are already coalescing around Dean for Secretary of HHS:
- Senator Tom Harkin
- Senator Pat Leahy
- Senator Bernie Sanders
- Representative Alan Grayson
- Representative Raul Grijalva
- Representative Peter Welch
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
“I think that would be a very good move,” Harkin told the Huffington Post. “He brings all the background and experience. He’s very strong on prevention and wellness, which I’m very strong on. I think he’d make an outstanding secretary of HHS.”
Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT)
“I think Howard Dean would do a great job,” Leahy told the Huffington Post at an event at Georgetown University. “He is a physician. As governor he had to deal with everything that went right with HHS and with everything that went wrong. He can tell us that these are the things that a governor has to face, Medicare especially and other things, he is very knowledgeable. He would be very good … And he is obviously a tireless worker.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Senator Sanders wrote a letter to President Obama in support of Dean for HHS:
“Governor Dean’s background as a physician and as a governor makes him eminently qualified for this extremely important position.”
“Governor Dean understands, as you do, that all Americans are entitled to health care as a right of citizenship, and that we must pay far more attention to the needs of our children if we are to have a healthy and prosperous society.”
Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Better Democrat Alan Grayson says of Dean:
“He’s progressive, he’s experienced, he’s effective, and he’s vetted.”
Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
In a letter to President Obama, Rep. Grijalva writes:
“Fixing health care is central to the recovery of the American economny and the security of the American family. Howard Dean is my candidate for the job. I hope he will be yours.”
Representative Peter Welch (D-VT)
When asked by the Rutland Herald, Rep. Peter Welch said:
“I think Howard would be a perfect candidate for the job. He has the combination of executive experience where he was a leader on health care, and he has a lot of support in Congress. I think he would be an outstanding HHS secretary to take on health-care reform.”