Closer to home
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is slated to serve as chairman of the confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos to become the next U.S. Secretary of Education. In late November, Alexander applauded President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of DeVos. “Betsy DeVos is an excellent choice. The Senate’s education committee will move swiftly in January to consider her nomination. Betsy has worked for years to improve educational opportunities for all children,” he said. A live stream of the hearing will be available at www.help.senate.gov/hearings/nomination-of-betsy-devos-to-serve-as-secretary-of-education at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday.
WASHINGTON – Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos is widely expected to push for expanding school choice programs if confirmed as education secretary, prompting pushback from teachers unions. But Democrats and activists also are raising concerns about how her conservative Christian beliefs and advocacy for family values might impact minority and LGBT students.
The wealthy Republican donor’s financial and political clout will be on display on Tuesday as she goes before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has members who have benefited from her largesse. Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a statement that DeVos “will work tirelessly to ensure every child has access to a high quality education.”
Critics say the choice of DeVos belies President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” and bring new faces to politics and policy in Washington.
“He is basically proposing a bunch of people to be in the Cabinet that are political insiders with lots of money and have used that money to buy politicians and DeVos definitely fits that description,” said Carmel Martin, executive vice president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank.