Janet Rehnquist (born May 4, 1957) is a former

inspector general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

(I.G.) of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

(H.H.S.), a prominent Republican, and the daughter of former Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

Resignation and controversy

While the

Inspector General Act of 1978 The Inspector General Act of 1978 is a United States federal law () defining a standard set of Inspector General offices across several specified departments of the U.S. federal government. The Act specifically creates Inspector General positio ...

requires that an I.G. is selected based upon their qualifications and not their political affiliation, those appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

are often considered political appointees and may also be selected because of their political relationships and party affiliation. Rehnquist's job was to investigate fraud, waste and abuse at H.H.S., including Medicare fraud. During her term, CBS News obtained documents showing that Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

's chief of staff, Kathleen Shanahan, had left Janet Rehnquist an urgent message and asked her to put off an audit into an alleged $571 million overpayment to the State of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, which was discovered in 2002. Rehnquist quickly ordered a two-week delay of the audit. Two weeks stretched into five months, after which Rehnquist ordered her audit team to "proceed with (an) audit in North Carolina first, then do Florida." This put the audit well after Jeb Bush's election. It is alleged that Rehnquist then tried to halt an investigation by Congress. In March 2003, after

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

had begun an investigation into the matter, Rehnquist resigned stating that she wanted to spend more time with her family.

References

Other sources

* "Pension fund probe urged."

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

Mar 14, 2003. * "Janet Rehnquist, the embattled inspector general of the Department of...." Medical Marketing & Media, Apr 1, 2003. * "Report Cites HHS IG's 'Failures'; U.S. Won't Charge Janet Rehnquist."

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, Apr 13, 2003. Start Page: A.06 * Lee, Christopher, "GAO Cites Janet Rehnquist's Lapses; Former HHS Official Created Atmosphere of 'Distrust,' Report Says."

, June 11, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rehnquist, Janet 1957 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Inspectors General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services United States Inspectors General by name Washington, D.C., Republicans