Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged career employees at the Education Department on Tuesday to “be the resistance” when the Biden administration comes into power next month, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by POLITICO.
During a department-wide virtual meeting to discuss the shift to the new administration, DeVos acknowledged that most of the agency’s thousands of career employees “will be here through the coming transition and beyond.”
“Let me leave you with this plea: Resist,” DeVos said. “Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students. In everything you do, please put students first — always.”
An Education Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the remarks. The department also would not say whether DeVos plans to stay in office until Jan. 20.
DeVos' words: The secretary told Education Department employees on Tuesday that her goal “in everything we accomplished was to do what’s right for students,” adding that “four years later it’s still my focus and it’s still my hope for all of you.” She touted her overhaul of Title IX rules governing sexual assault and misconduct in schools and colleges as one of her major accomplishments.
The secretary's remarks come after nearly four years of frequently sparring with the career employees of her department. She tangled with the agency’s union over reorganizations and workplace policies, such as teleworking rules, and blamed bureaucrats at the agency for making it difficult to get things done.
“This building has caused more problems than it solved,” DeVos said of the Education Department during an interview with Reason magazine this fall.
Political appointees at the Education Department also sought to investigate CONTINUE READING: DeVos urges career staff to ‘be the resistance’ as Biden takes over - POLITICO