Talk of Leon Rodriguez Leaving HHS Office for Civil Rights is Premature

Contrary to published reports, Leon Rodriguez, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, is not leaving the organization, yet.

Rodriguez has notified his staff that President Obama intends to nominate him to become Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security. But OCR spokesperson Rachel Seeger cautions that Rodriquez has not yet been nominated and should that happen a formal Senate confirmation process lies ahead.

Published reports further speculate that Susan McAndrew, deputy director of the health information privacy division of OCR that enforces the HIPAA privacy/security/breach/enforcement rules, is a prime candidate to succeed Rodriquez. But Seeger notes that McAndrew is a veteran federal employee and the top post is a political appointment.