Sen. Orrin Hatch condemns Pres. Obama for choosing "to circumvent the Senate without even a hearing and recess appoint Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that will oversee the implementation of the new health law." Says Hatch in a press release issued Wednesday:

"Utahns and the American people deserve better than this type of arrogance of power. Without so much as even a hearing, President Obama chose to circumvent the Senate and the American people by recess appointing his controversial nominee, Donald Berwick, to head one of the most powerful agencies in the Washington. No Senator -- Democrat or Republican -- was given the chance to ask Dr. Berwick about his strong support of Britain's single-payer National Health Service or his belief that government delivers higher quality care than the private sector. The American people have the right to understand the views of a man who will be implementing the single largest expansion of the federal government in a generation before being appointed to such a powerful position."