Washington • Among the paintings and photographs that decorate Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ sunlit, spacious office is the framed roll call from her Senate confirmation. It’s a stark reminder of the bruising process that spurred angry protests, some ridicule and required the vice president’s tie-breaking “yes” vote.
Critics see her as hostile to public education and indifferent to civil rights, citing her impassioned push for school choice and her signing off on the repeal of some protections for LGBT students.
Conservatives wish she had been less polarizing and more effective in promoting her agenda, noting that the department’s budget requests are stalled in Congress and no tangible school choice plan has emerged.