Michelle Obama insists she played no role in helping embattled FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh secure her position.
Rumors ignited within the FDNY that Obama gave Kavanagh — a former campaign staffer for her husband, Barack — a glowing endorsement and urged New York City Mayor Eric Adams to promote her to commissioner last year, sources told The Post.
Now, nearly a year into the job, sources within the department are complaining she was wrongfully appointed thanks to her lofty connections.
“She’s essentially a PR person without any firefighting experience, and she’s lost the respect of the force,” said one of the sources.
A spokesperson for the former first lady shot down the allegations that she had a hand in Kavanagh’s promotion.
“Michelle Obama was never involved in any way with Commissioner Kavanagh’s appointment to the FDNY,” Obama’s office told The Post in a statement.
Kavanagh, who cut her teeth working on campaigns for Barack Obama and other Democratic politicians beginning in 2006, was named the interim chief after former Commissioner Daniel Nigro retired in February 2022.
Adams waited more than seven months to name Kavanagh, 40, to the top job.
A spokesman for Adams also strongly denied that Obama was involved in Kavanagh’s hiring and referred The Post to the city’s press release announcing her appointment in October 2022.
“New Yorkers and New York City’s ‘Bravest’ deserve an exceptional leader and Commissioner Kavanagh has the vision, the skills, and the compassion to lead the FDNY into the future,” said Adams in the press statement.
The release also featured quotes from politicians, including US Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) of Brooklyn. Kavanagh worked for Clarke in 2008.
Kavanagh — the first woman in history to become commissioner of the more than 17,000-strong force — whipped up turmoil among the FDNY’s rank and file after she demoted three high-ranking fire chiefs this week. In response, two other FDNY bigwigs, Chief of Department John Hodgens and Chief of Operations John Esposito, voluntarily sought their own demotions, in protest about reportedly being kept in the dark.
“Hodgens is one of the most honorable individuals I have ever met,” said former New York City firefighter and now attorney Pete Gleason. “I have no doubt that she [Kavanagh] undermined his ability to be the uniformed leader of the FDNY, and that shows how treacherous she is. She’s demoting people and she is supposed to run it past him. What she created is a very public embarrassment for the FDNY.”
Before joining former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, where she spearheaded public health campaigns with former first lady Chirlane McCray, California-born Kavanagh worked for the Advance Group, according to her LinkedIn page. She is listed as the company’s vice president of campaigns and elections, and worked for the Democratic lobbyist between 2006 and 2012, when she went on to head up get-out-the-vote operations in Pennsylvania for the Obama campaign.
She became a senior adviser to de Blasio’s campaign in 2013 and began her career at the FDNY as director of external affairs in 2014. Since then, Kavanagh has risen through the ranks despite having no experience as a firefighter.
As deputy fire commissioner, she partnered with McCray in November 2020 to launch a mental health initiative allowing crisis counselors to be dispatched through 911 calls instead of the NYPD.
