Iowa Governor Refuses To Say Why DHS Director Left

In an interview with KCRG TV, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said that there is "no reason" to explain why she asked the head of the Department of Health and Human Services in Iowa to step down.

Jerry Foxhoven stepped down last month at the request of the governor. Reynolds said that she is looking to overhaul the department and is looking for someone new to lead the department in charge of the state's privatized Medicaid system. Governor Reynolds told KCRG the same thing she has said publicly, that there were several factors that led to her asking Foxhoven to step down, but she refused to give specifics. When asked if the public has the right to know she responded, "I don't think so."

Democrats in the Iowa House and Senate disagree. They say that this violates Iowa's Open Records Law. Reynolds was part of then-Governor Terry Branstad's administration when he signed a law requiring government agencies to give reasons and rationale for any employee that is fired or asked to resign in lieu of termination.

Reynolds says that Foxhoven's dismissal does not fit the definition of "resignation in lieu of termination." 

[via KCRG}