Donald Trump has chosen school choice advocate Betsy Devos as his secretary of education. Per the Detroit News:
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he intends to appoint west Michigan GOP mega donor and philanthropist Betsy DeVos to be his education secretary, putting an ardent supporter of school choice in charge of the nation’s education policy.
DeVos, 58, is seen as a national leader in the school choice movement, which she has called an attempt to “empower” parents to find good schools for their children, whether they be traditional public schools in other neighborhoods, charter schools, virtual schools or private institutions.
“Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate,” Trump said Wednesday in a statement. “Under her leadership, we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families.”
Trump’s appointment of DeVos is subject to confirmation by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.
Conservatives are split on the pick, with many noting that DeVos has in the past supported Common Core. DeVos clarified that position on Twitter this afternoon:
Many of you are asking about Common Core. To clarify, I am not a supporter—period. Read my full stance, here: https://t.co/qB2nAXvX0B
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) November 23, 2016
Top conservatives seemed cautiously optimistic to downright enthused about the pick:
Glad Trump’s pick for Ed Sec Betsy DeVos supports #schoolchoice! We will have to hold feet to fire on federalism.
— (((Inez Stepman))) (@InezFeltscher) November 23, 2016
Betsy DeVos opposes #CommonCore. Her groups have fought brilliantly to bring choice to abandoned families. Conservatives should be ecstatic.
— Jack Fowler (@jackfowler) November 23, 2016
Many prattle but Betsy DeVos and @SchoolChoiceNow DO real things for real people. Helped break union monopoly on our kids. Celebrate this!
— Jack Fowler (@jackfowler) November 23, 2016
And perhaps the best endorsement of Weingarten came in this harried tweet from AFT President Randi Weingarten, an ardent opponent of school choice, who is losing her freaking mind on Twitter right now.
Trump has chosen the most ideological, anti-public ed nominee since the creation of the Dept of Education. https://t.co/4NwFn5fzvx
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) November 23, 2016
We wish Devos the best of luck, and hope she can help remedy the educational inadequacies in our inner cities and provide real educational opportunities to those who currently don’t have them.
