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The resignation of embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price for using of private jets for government travel is setting off a frenzy of speculation about who will replace him. While it’s still early, health policy insiders see two current officials as perhaps the most likely candidates: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. (Sullivan, 10/3)

Exactly how long Dr. Don Wright occupies the top spot at HHS is anyone's guess, but conservative policy insiders have wasted little time in compiling a wish list of candidates to become the department's next permanent secretary. Wright was temporarily anointed to the post when Dr. Tom Price abruptly resigned late last week. As Congress struggled to repeal the Affordable Care Act, hope has fallen on HHS as the avenue from which conservative healthcare reform will take place. Besides overseeing a department that accounts for nearly one-quarter of all federal spending, the secretary has tremendous latitude in shaping program under the ACA. (Dickson, 10/2)

Tom Price may be gone as HHS secretary, but his efforts to put a conservative stamp on the $1.1 trillion agency, from promoting faith groups to scrapping Obamacare implementation, are likely to move forward without him. A “draft strategic plan” for HHS, published before Price resigned last week, references “faith” or “faith-based” organizations more than 40 times in its five-year statement of priorities. (Demko, Pittman and Ehley, 10/2)