Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) asked the state’s director of Health and Human Services to resign last month, but her office insists it definitely wasn’t because of his obsession with ’90s rapper Tupac.
“As the governor has said, a lot of factors contributed to the resignation of Jerry Foxhoven,” Reynolds’ spokesman told the Des Moines Register on Thursday. “Of course, Tupac was not one of them.”
“Gov. Reynolds is looking forward to taking DHS in a new direction,” he continued.
Reynolds’ office was not immediately available for comment.
Considering the fact that Reynolds asked Foxhoven to resign the Monday after he sent an email announcing Tupac’s birthday to the entire agency of 4,300 employees on Friday the 14th, the timing seemed suspicious.
However, the Register found that Reynolds’ chief of staff had indeed sent Foxhoven an email on June 13 requesting a meeting. After they scheduled it for June 17th, Foxhoven sent the birthday email.
After meeting on that Monday, Reynolds announced that Foxhoven had resigned.
Foxhoven loved the late rapper, and he made sure the rest of the agency knew it: “Tupac Fridays,” Tupac-themed cookies, and emails to employees filled with Tupac lyrics that the 66-year-old official found inspiring were a regular occurrence during Foxhoven’s 2-year tenure.
