Posted Friday, February 22, 2013 --- 10:20 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith has resigned.

Gov. Scott Walker announced the resignation and appointed Deputy Secretary Kitty Rhoades as secretary of the department that is in charge of overseeing the state's Medicaid programs.

Smith had been at the forefront of Walker's opposition to the federal health care law and had testified before Congress on that issue.

Smith says in his resignation letter that he is accepting a job in the private sector that begins March 1. He did not say in the letter where the job was.

Rhoades has served alongside Smith as his deputy since Walker took office in January 2011. Prior to that Rhoades served in the state Assembly from 1999 through 2010.

Copyright 2013: Associated Press