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Katie McCormick: Michelle Obama's ex-PR reportedly received more than $100k from Meghan Markle’s foundation

In 2021, Meghan Markle issued a letter that called on Congress to pass a federal paid parental leave program

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Foundation has paid a staggering amount of money to a woman who has served as the press chief to Michelle Obama. According to multiple outlets, the nonprofit foundation, run by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, has forked $109,870 to a public relations firm run by Katie McCormick Lelyveld in 2021.

The revelation surfaced in the foundation's 2021 tax disclosure documents, The Sun reported. This has even led to the speculation that Meghan could run for office in the future.

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Who is Katie McCormick Lelyveld?

Lelyveld worked for Michelle from 2007 to 2011, and has also done public relations work for Hillary Clinton and former presidential candidate John Kerry. According to New York Post, Archewell’s payment to her PR firm, KMLSA LLC, was listed as “strategic support for social impact PR”, and touts itself, "From the corporate war room to the media battlefield, the corner office to the White House, KML Strategic Advisors are your guides through rarified air."

Is Meghan trying to get into politics?

The payment to a politically-connected PR firm was just the latest hint which indicates that the former Royal family member might be gearing up for public office and is thus trying to hire the best people in the business to guide her. In 2021, Meghan issued a letter that called on Congress to pass a federal paid parental leave program. It was also reported that Meghan and Harry had held a private meeting with California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020.

Although Newsom’s office claimed it was just a welcoming meeting after the Duke and Duchess decided to settle down in California, the meeting triggered speculation among many people over Meghan’s political ambition. As of now, the duo is knee-deep in their philanthropy work, and the PR consulting could easily be just about that as well.

"She can do whatever she wants"

Twitter users also reacted to the news and voiced their opinions. One user tweeted, "With RR’s proven inability to keep her “varied recollections” straight (via public court records and a myriad of other sources) I doubt she’d survive the scrutiny and the murkier parts of her past coming to light… but kudos to the PR team for trying." Another asked, "Can she keep her titles and kids titles if she goes into USA politics ?" One tweeted, "President Megan Markle , Duchess of Sussex Having 2 titles is not bad." One user opined, "She would never stand the scrutiny or the delving into her past life. Doubt very much she would even jump the first hurdle." "I hope she does run for President. She won’t BE president, but all the secrets she thinks have been buried will be identified and scrutinised, and she will finally be exposed, which is the best outcome", tweeted one.

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