Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said she would be willing to serve again in a Donald Trump cabinet if he were to win in November — with conditions.
"I don't think President Trump would ask me to again," DeVos said. "But if he did, I would want to do so only if it was with the goal of phasing out the Department of Education as we tried to do through budgetary process in the first administration," DeVos added. "And also getting a commitment to passing a major education freedom bill in the form of a tax credit mechanism at the Department of Treasury."
While DeVos has not endorsed Trump yet, she has said she is “definitely supporting the Republican ticket.” The Michigan billionaire and her family members are some of the most active GOP political donors in the battleground state of Michigan. She was once a state Republican Party chairwoman.
DeVos was the second Trump cabinet secretary to resign on January 7, 2021, blaming Trump for an insurrection.
“There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” she wrote.
She also acknowledged having a discussion with Mike Pence about invoking the 25th Amendment, but Pence refused to support the idea.
Trump tells voters on his campaign site a few ways he would manage education:
- Cut federal funding for schools that are “pushing critical race theory or gender ideology on our children” and open civil rights investigations into them for race-based discrimination.
- End access for trans youth to sports.
- Create a body that will certify teachers who “embrace patriotic values”.
- Reward districts that get rid of teacher tenure.
- Adopt a parents’ bill of rights.
- Implement direct elections of school principals by parents.
Project 2025 on Education:
One of the broad goals of Project 2025 includes the elimination of the Department of Education and the goal that “families and students should be free to choose from a diverse set of school options and learning environments.”
Also a major goal would be federal tax credit scholarships — essentially the voucher program that DeVos previously pushed.
