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Sylvia Mathews Burwell's Senate confirmation hearing was not the tense, partisan fight over Obamacare some Republicans promised. It was actually pretty lame. The consensus was that Burwell is a great choice manage, in Sen. John McCain's words, the Titanic mess that is the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans — at least the ones who showed up — praised Burwell's leadership skills and recommended her, despite their objections to the health care law she would help enforce.
Burwell's biggest supporter on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee was McCain, a known opponent of Obamacare. McCain tweeted last month that she was an "excellent choice" and continued to praise her on Thursday. “Regardless of my objections to the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services needs competent leadership,” McCain said during the hearing. “I believe Ms. Burwell has the qualifications to run Health and Human Services.” If anything, he thought she was better for the job than the job would be for her. "After all," he said, "who would recommend their friend take over as captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg?”