Free Republic

Jackie Norris, the chairwoman of the Des Moines Public School Board who once served as chief of staff to Michelle Obama, has pulled out of the race for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat as recommended by her Republican opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson. Hinson stressed earlier this month that Norris, a champion of DEI, had "lost all shreds of credibility" over the role she played in the hiring of the Des Moines district's former superintendent, a criminal illegal alien who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept 26. Ian Andre Roberts, a native of Guyana, has a lengthy...

Violating its own guarantee of unprecedented transparency, the White House is blocking an investigation into the controversial firing of an inspector general who exposed one of President Obama’s political supporters—a California mayor—for misusing federal funds. First Lady Michelle Obama was reportedly behind the contentious June dismissal of AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin and congressional investigators want to interview the aide (Jackie Norris) who may have given the order. At the time Norris was the First Lady’s chief of staff but the White House counsel’s office has blocked investigators from interviewing her, according to a national news report. Norris is currently...

Washington took note when first lady Michelle Obama suddenly sacked her chief of staff in favor of her old boss from Chicago at the beginning of June. It was widely seen as a sign that the first lady wanted to start pumping up policy as well as her biceps. The new chief of staff, Susan Sher, had helped Obama move from an unsatisfying job as a corporate lawyer grinding out billable hours to a lush, $317,000-a-year community relations job at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Sher, Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett and the first lady are close friends....