What a surprise. Trump’s former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who did all she could to destroy the department the last time he was in office, loves the new unqualified pick of Linda McMahon.
DeVos, who at one time was apparently sane enough to realize it was time to jump ship after the insurrection and actually discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office after he unleashed his minions to US Capitol– is back to being a full MAGA supporter.
Now she’s all in, and hoping that Trump’s pick of McMahon will finish the job of destroying public education in the United States that she failed to accomplish. Here’s DeVos on Fox not-news this week, gushing over McMahon selection.
MACCALLUM: What’s your reaction to the appointment of Linda McMahon in this post at education?
DEVOS: Well, I think it’s a great appointment. Linda is a proven executive that has a ton of experience. She did a great job at SBA. She has a heart for kids and education and we all know that the Department of Education is a mess.
It has failed in its mission and she will do a great job in implementing the policies that President Trump has championed, starting with education freedom, tax credit policy around school choice and cleaning up and clarifying Title Nine.
And this issue of men in women’s bathrooms, in women’s sports, cleaning up the mess that federal student aid is and the FAFSA, the whole FAFSA roll out debacle, and then importantly, returning… returning to the States and local communities power over decision making and resources to do the best thing for kids at the most local level, devolving it away from Washington and getting bureaucrats out of the mix.
MACCALLUM: So there is a Education Choice for Children’s Act that would be a federal school choice option for Congress to consider. Where does that stand? And it sounds like that’s a high priority. President-elect Trump mentioned it mentioned it… that move — federal school choice — as one of his primary priorities.
DEVOS: Yes, absolutely. It has been continuing to gain support on Capitol Hill and of course, it does need to have congressional support and approval to implement. This would provide rocket fuel to what states are already doing, and it would provide a vehicle for students in states that haven’t yet had policies implemented to support those choices in some of those states. It’s a really, really important piece of the president’s agenda, and I think that this next Congress is going to see it through.
MACCALLUM: So would you say that the order of things should be to pass that and then to eliminate the Department of Education?
DEVOS: Well, there are a number of things that need to be cleaned up within the department before serious steps can be taken to actually dismantling or devolving it away from Washington. And of course, actually closing it needs Congress’s approval, but there are many steps that can be taken to de-power what happens in Washington and to empower the States and local districts and importantly, parents and families at the most local level.
But those things all have to happen at the same time and or in succession, starting with cleaning up the FAFSA and student loan debacle and then all of the rest of it can be really addressed through block granting back to the States and taking care of the laws that the Department of Ed has got to oversee.
There was backlash to a lot of what DeVos tried to ram through while Trump was in office the first time. We’ll see how the leopards like their faces being eaten this time around when it’s McMahon doing Trump’s bidding instead of DeVos.
If anyone needed more proof that McMahon was a godawful pick for a whole host of reasons, you can add the endorsement from DeVos to the list.