HHS chief fuels speculation ex-House Speaker Gingrich will succeed him

When Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Friday he would be the eighth Cabinet member to jump ship, most Washington watchers assumed his vacancy would be filled quickly by heir apparent Mark McClellan, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a White House favorite.

Thompson, however, helped stir spectulation by mentioning that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was interested in his job.

Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation, is a favorite of conservatives but also considered a lightning rod. A Gingrich spokesman said the former speaker is not lobbying for the job and no offer has been made.

Gingrich was "flattered to have his name thrown in," the spokesman said, but he is not interested in the job. If the White House came calling? "Well, you never say never," the spokesman said.

Thompson also suggested as potential replacements McClellan, Deputy HHS Secretary Claude Allen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding, National Institutes of Health Director Elias Zirhouni, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci. Also being mentioned is EPA Administrator Leavitt.

McClellan is considered the frontrunner, but he may wait to take the position because he will be busy shepherding Medicare's new prescription drug benefit, slated to fully debut in 2006. HHS observers say McClellan might want to wait until the benefit is in place before taking a less hands-on spot at the HHS helm.

Allen is a Bush nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but his nomination has been stalled by Democrats because of his opposition to abortion rights.