DeVos foes promise to make her job hell
The fight to derail DeVos, while unsuccessful, has united a wide variety of advocates.
It was a fight to end confirmation fights — for an Education secretary, no less. And after all the protests and phone calls against Betsy DeVos culminated in an all-night Democratic vigil on the Senate floor, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking confirmation vote Tuesday — setting the stage for more bruising fights ahead.
All indications are the same groups galvanized by DeVos’ nomination are mobilizing for new battles on issues ranging from tuition vouchers and protections for LGBT students in schools, to free speech and sexual assault disciplinary policies on college campuses.
Members of teachers unions, civil rights groups and parents organizations who jammed Senate phone lines say they plan to keep the spotlight on the Michigan megadonor and advocate for charter schools — and to devote their energy to scrutinizing the Education Department.
The fight to derail DeVos, while unsuccessful, has united a wide variety of advocates who care about education, said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union. The union now has a “contact list to die for,” she said.
The NEA says it gathered about 1 million email addresses of those opposing DeVos’ nomination and planned to mobilize that network of grassroots activists to push back against the Trump administration’s agenda.
“There will be no relationship with Betsy DeVos,” Eskelsen Garcia said.
Opponents will be watching DeVos closely as the Trump administration rolls out its budget to see whether it prioritizes school choice-friendly measures, civil rights enforcement and programs that earmark money for low-income schools. They also want to see whether she holds school districts and states accountable for failing schools and what, if any, steps she might take to weaken federal guidance on DeVos foes promise to make her job hell - POLITICO: