Her role at this ministry was controversial, mainly due to a speech she gave during the concern over mad cow disease.
However, during her period in office, the government delegated all public health responsibilities to the Autonomous Communities.
She was deputy speaker of Spanish Parlament between 2011 and 2016.
Nowadays, she is MP for Málaga and deputy spokeswoman of People's Party.
She is one of the most liberal members of the People's Party (PP), and is currently a member of the Spanish parliament representing Málaga, where she voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 2005, for which she was economically penalized by the PP, and she left the Spanish Congress during a vote on legal abortion extension cases, which the PP opposed.