Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Column Reports Talk that Thompson ‘May Soon Be Out’ at HHS

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has "become the subject of open talk in D.C. that he may soon be out as health and human services secretary," a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column reports. Citing reports that the former Wisconsin governor has "clashe[d]" with the White House on several issues -- as well as his public "grousing about life inside the Beltway" -- several media outlets have recently begun raising questions about Thompson's "longevity" at HHS. For example, a June 22 Wall Street Journal column noted briefly that Thompson and Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman have "lost stature after the White House overruled them on high-profile issues." Thompson also tops a recent Scripps Howard News Service contest in which readers guess which Cabinet secretary will be "the first to go, either by choice or by fiat." The Journal Sentinel reports that unnamed Thompson "pals" say he has "not adapted well to the Washington scene," while the secretary's advisers concede that "he has feuded with the White House on some issues," such as his support for tobacco regulation and stem-cell research. But his advisers said they "don't believe Bush is looking to dump Thompson"; spokesman Tony Jewell said the HHS secretary has a strong relationship with the president and called the rumors of his departure "'idle chatter' by the D.C. media." Thompson advisers also "suggested" that he is "well-regarded by Congress, is valued for his political intuition and has top aides who are very close to Bush's top aides," the Journal Sentinel reports (Spivak/Bice, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/30).