Kathleen Sebelius, lightning rod for Obamacare critics, resigns

For five years, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been a lightning rod for critics of President Barack Obama's health care law.

But with sign-ups exceeding expectations and a new face soon to be in charge at HHS, the White House is eager to see if the poisonous atmosphere might give way to more pragmatic efforts aimed at fixing problems with the nation's newest social program.

Obama will announce Sebelius's resignation Friday. He will also nominate his budget director, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, as her replacement.

The moves come just over a week after sign-ups closed for the first year of insurance coverage under the so-called Obamacare law.