(CNN)
By Newt Gingrich
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' announcement that she is leaving office is a good occasion to assess her impact.
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Sadly her term as secretary of Health and Human Services was a disaster.
Americans should be able to expect that people who enter high public office will see their job as a public duty and will view faithfully serving the public and administering the laws as their solemn obligation.
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Sebelius ran her office in a secretive and extraordinarily partisan manner that frequently ignored, violated and changed the law at whim.
Perhaps her approach merely mirrored the attitude of the Obama White House, but as the Senate-confirmed head of a major department of the American government, Sebelius must be held to a different standard than White House staff.
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The White House staff is there to serve the president. Their positions are inherently personal and political. If the Obama White House is often arrogant, aloof, secretive and largely isolated from the Congress, it is because that is the president's style. And that is his right.
Leading a major federal department is a very different proposition.
The secretary of HHS has legal duties and obligations that define and limit what she can and cannot do for the president. Although he nominated her, her job is not defined by the president. It is defined by the law.
