Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the Trump transition team didn’t adequately coach her ahead of her Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year.
“The transition group was very circumspect about how much information they gave me about then-current policy and … it was in their view a balance between being prepared for a confirmation hearing and not having well-formed opinions on what should or shouldn’t change, so as not to get caught in a confirmation hearing making commitments that then I wouldn’t want to or be able to keep,” Ms. DeVos said in an interview with Politico.
Ms. DeVos said in the report that she was not allowed to talk to the media during her confirmation process, which she said enabled her opponents to attack her without response.
Her confirmation was arguably one of the most intense, with Vice President Mike Pence called in to break a tie in her favor. Teacher unions were immediately opposed to Ms. DeVos’ nomination because of her long fight for charter schools, a program teacher unions have actively campaigned against.
“I wish I had a whole lot more information,” she said.
Even after she was confirmed as secretary, Ms. DeVos continues to require security protection after threats against her were deemed serious. She also faces protests at many of the events she attends across the country.
In the article, she acknowledges her relative lack of power running the agency as far as creating education policy is concerned.
“The Department of Education is there to carry out the laws that are passed by Congress,” she said to Politico. “And I think, really key, is that we remember what our role is and not confuse it with the role of Congress — which is to make and pass laws.”
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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