Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris "has no shred of credibility" to seek to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate seat after Superintendent Ian Roberts was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a federal deportation order and resigned, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Roberts, who led Iowa's largest school district, stepped down this week amid the controversy.
"It is laughable that she thinks she has any shred of credibility left after this totally epic disaster," Hinson told "Rob Schmitt Tonight," saying a "con man, illegal immigrant with these weapons charges" was elevated to the top of the district.
Hinson blamed Norris' leadership of the board and called her "woefully unqualified" to be a U.S. senator, crediting President Donald Trump and ICE for removing a "dangerous con man" from the post.
Norris served on the board but was not chair when Roberts was named superintendent in 2023; she is now chair and managing the fallout from the controversy.
Norris, a one-time aide to former first lady Michelle Obama, is running for the Democrat nomination in 2026 for the U.S. Senate seat that opened when Republican Sen. Joni Ernst announced her retirement. In fundraising remarks played on the program, Norris referenced dealing with an "extremely serious situation" in her volunteer role as chair while asking supporters to donate before a deadline.
Hinson, who will be running for the Republican nomination to fill Ernst's seat, seized on that appeal, saying the episode shows a failure of leadership that "has failed school-aged kids, it's failed parents, it's failed everyday voters, everyday taxpayers."
"We have five Democrats running in this race, and all of them seem to be bending over backwards to defend illegal immigrants over Iowans and everyday Americans," she said.
"They'd rather see those government-funded benefits going to illegals. They'd rather see wokeness lead over marriage."
Hinson cast herself as a "commonsense Iowa mom" who will "continue to work alongside the president to do exactly what Americans sent us there to do, which is to clean up this giant mess."
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