WASHINGTON — Even when Sylvia Mathews Burwell was in her early 30s, friends speculated that she might return to her native Hinton, W.Va., and run for governor. After all, she had been a Rhodes scholar, and her mother — who became mayor of Hinton, population 2,600 — had driven her daughter’s interest in politics.
So far, that has not happened, but she has fulfilled plenty of other duties in two White House administrations. On Friday, President Obama is expected to nominate Burwell, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to run one of the most unwieldy parts of the federal bureaucracy as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
If confirmed, Burwell would replace Kathleen Sebelius, who is resigning.
Burwell has spent much of the past year mired in Washington’s fiscal fights, including the standoff that led to a 15-day government shutdown in early October. She also handled health policy as Obama’s budget chief.
At 48, Burwell is on the other side of the digital divide from Sebelius, 65, who foundered in part because of vast technical problems with the health care website, overseen by her agency.
A Harvard graduate, Burwell is a veteran of the Clinton administration, where she served in a variety of positions, including as a deputy to Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew when he was President Clinton’s budget director. Before joining the Obama administration, Burwell was the president of the Walmart Foundation, the charity with ties to Walmart Stores.
Burwell has a reputation for strong organizational skills and for navigating the lumbering bureaucracy.