WASHINGTON _ Omarosa Manigault Newman says she overlooked what she considered a hostile White House environment so she could tackle important issues affecting African-Americans, including an effort to revamp the federal office that supports historically black colleges and universities.
Instead, Manigault Newman insisted she be appointed director of the HBCU office despite any significant higher education experience, angering black lawmakers and college presidents and leading to months of delay, according to six people with knowledge of the situation.
"She wanted to be the point of contact for everyone and if it couldn't be her, it was going to be no one," a congressional aide said. The six people McClatchy interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity to give accounts of private meetings.
