Betsy DeVos

[[File:Betsy DeVos.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Because only in [[Donald Trump]]'s administration does it make sense to name someone who is against public education as Secretary of Education…]]
{{uspolitics|1}}
'''''Not''' to be confused with {{wpl|Sweet_Betsy_from_Pike|Sweet Betsy from Pike}}''
{{cquote|I have not — I have not — I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming.|||Betsy DeVos, woman who visits underperforming schools by accident.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/us/politics/devos-education-60-minutes-public-schools.html</ref>}}

'''Elisabeth Dee "Betsy" DeVos''' {{lived|1958}} is a noted [[Republican]], anti-[[public education]] activist, and batshit crazy [[fundamentalist]] who served as [[Donald Trump]]'s Secretary of Education before resigning days before the ending of her term. Which makes 
perfect sense
 no sense.

The very definition of a business heiress, she is married to Dick DeVos, the former-CEO of [[Amway]], is the sister of the founder of [[Blackwater]] (Erik Prince), and is the daughter of the founder of the Prince Corporation.<ref>{{wpa|Betsy DeVos}}</ref> She is also a prominent [[Republican]] activist, having served as Republican National Committeewoman for [[Michigan]] from 1992 to 1997 and served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000.<ref name=russell>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/michigan-mega-donor-trump-doesnt-represent-gop Michigan mega-donor: Trump doesn't represent GOP] by Jason Russell (March 07, 2016 12:01 AM) ''Washington Examiner''.</ref> She has also donated to the campaigns of many prominent Republican politicians, including [[George W. Bush]], [[Marco Rubio]], [[John McCain]], and others.

DeVos, a [[Calvinist]], solely attended private [[Christian]] schools, Holland Christian Schools and Calvin College.<ref name=mead>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/betsy-devos-and-the-plan-to-break-public-schools Betsy DeVos and the Plan to Break Public Schools] by Rebecca Mead (December 14, 2016) ''The New Yorker''.</ref> "DeVos has never taught in a public school, nor administered one, nor sent her children to one."<ref name=mead/> DeVos and her husband were very active in supporting the charter-school initiative, as well as voucher programs for public funding of private schools, in their home state of Michigan for a period of two decades.<ref name=mead/> ''The Detroit Free Press'' found that the charter schools were not accountable for student performance nor were they accountable financially.<ref>[https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/06/22/michigan-spends-1b-on-charter-schools-but-fails-to-hold/77155074/ Michigan spends $1B on charter schools but fails to hold them accountable] by Jennifer Dixon (Published 1:00 a.m. ET June 22, 2014 | Updated 11:10 p.m. ET Jan. 16, 2017) ''The Detroit Free Press''.</ref> During a 2018 interview on "60 Minutes", DeVos was unable to dispute that the Michigan charter-school system did not improve student performance.<ref name=60minutes>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/secretary-of-education-betsy-devos-on-guns-school-choice-and-why-people-dont-like-her/ Betsy DeVos on guns, school choice and why people don't like her] (Mar 11, 2018) ''CBS News''.</ref>

DeVos is one of the primary investors in [[Neurocore]], a "brain training" company based on [[pseudoscience]].<ref name=fink>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/us/politics/betsy-devos-neurocore-brain-centers.html Betsy DeVos Invests in a Therapy Under Scrutiny] by Sheri Fink et al. (Jan. 30, 2017) ''New York Times''.</ref>

DeVos claimed under oath that she had nothing to do with The Prince Foundation's giving money to [[Focus on the Family]] and the [[Family Research Council]].<ref name=scahill>[https://theintercept.com/2017/01/18/trump-education-nominee-betsy-devos-lied-to-the-senate/ Trump Education Nominee Betsy DeVos Lied to the Senate] by Jeremy Scahill (January 18 2017, 10:18 a.m.) ''The Intercept''.</ref> She has been Vice President of The Prince Foundation for many years, which would seem to make that claim [[perjury]].<ref name=scahill/> Through The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, she has funded both [[libertarian]] (e.g., The Center for Individual Rights) and [[anti-abortion]] organizations (e.g., Right to Life of Michigan Educational Foundation).<ref>[https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/1/school-choice-but-much-more-making-sense-of-devos-family-phi.html School Choice, But Much More: Making Sense of DeVos Family Philanthropy] by Rick Docksai (March 01, 2016) ''Inside Philanthropy''.</ref><ref>[https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/you-dont-know-dick/Content?oid=2185621 You don’t know Dick] by Curt Guyette (October 04, 2006) ''Detroit Metro Times''.</ref>

Shortly after Trump won the 2016 presidential election, he announced that he had selected DeVos as his Secretary of Education, despite her saying initially that he "did not represent the Republican Party"<ref name=russell/> and 
probably because of
 despite her advocacy that the Department of Education be abolished. At her confirmation hearing, the entire [[United States Senate]] split 50-50 in the decision, with all the Senate [[Democrats]] and Independents, as well as Republican Senators [[Lisa Murkowski]] and Susan Collins, which led to Vice President [[Mike Pence]] breaking the tie in DeVos' favor, marking the first time ever that a Cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by a vice president's tie-breaking vote.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/senate-to-vote-today-on-confirmation-of-betsy-devos/2017/02/06/fd4b7e9c-ec85-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html With historic tiebreaker from Pence, DeVos confirmed as education secretary] by Emma Brown (February 7, 2017) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

DeVos showed a rather astounding ignorance of important issues surrounding public education both during<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPrP2pFdqfM Al Franken Baffled By DeVos' Ignorance On Education] by Reflect (Jan 17, 2017) ''YouTube''.</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2017/01/18/betsy-devoss-ignorance-is-not-a-compelling-argument-for-private-schooling/#1c8f7a8c590a Betsy DeVos' Ignorance Is Not A Compelling Argument For Private Schooling] by Emily Willingham (Jan 18, 2017 @ 01:17 PM) ''Forbes''.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/opinion/betsy-devos-teaches-the-value-of-ignorance.html Betsy DeVos Teaches the Value of Ignorance] by The Editorial Board (Feb. 7, 2017) ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/18/six-astonishing-things-betsy-devos-said-and-refused-to-say-at-her-confirmation-hearing/?utm_term=.8a066867ec64 Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing] by Valerie Strauss (January 18, 2017) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> and after<ref name=60minutes/><ref>[https://www.salon.com/2018/03/12/betsy-devos-goes-on-60-minutes-displays-her-ignorance/ Betsy DeVos goes on “60 Minutes,” displays her ignorance] by Charlie May (03.12.2018•5:44 AM) ''Salon''.</ref> her confirmation hearing.

Prior to confirmation, it was revealed that DeVos had 102 financial interests with potential conflicts of interest, from which she was required to divest after confirmation within 90 days.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/betsy-devos-potential-conflicts-financial-review-233906 DeVos review identifies 102 financial interests with potential conflicts] by Michael Stratford (01/20/2017 12:43 PM EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Later, it has turned out that she, like her boss Trump, still has very close ties with businesses operating within her area of political responsibilities. Thus, Performant, a company previously turfed out of the student debt-servicing business due to complaints over its behavior and in which DeVos’s family has substantial investments (only DeVos herself and her husband were forced to divest themselves of their direct stakes in Performant), was suddenly back in business after Betsy took office. She has subsequently gone on to neuter government institutions created to oversee and curtail such dubious business practices in the student 
debt collection
 loan-servicing sector in general and offered Performant one of only two contracts issued to manage the Department of Education’s loan management portfolio.<ref>[https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/dont-be-fooled-betsy-devos-knows-exactly-what-shes-doing/Content?oid=9897449&showFullText=true The miseducation of Betsy DeVos: Don't be fooled — Trump's secretary of education knows exactly what she's doing] by Jason Linkins and Phil Lewis (March 7, 2018) ''Detroit Metro Times''</ref>

A 2020 investigation into the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS), a troubled [[academic accreditation]] agency, revealed that ACICS awarded accreditation to "[[Reagan]] National University," a [[diploma mill]] with no students, classrooms or faculty. The [[Obama]] administration closed down ACICS in 2016 for not doing its job. ACICS was responsible for accrediting the [[scam]] school [[ITT Tech]] and two other for-profit schools which have since shut down and which defrauded students out of millions of dollars. DeVos ignored the recommendations of her career staff at the Department of Education and reinstated ACICS in 2018.<ref>Chris Quintana and Shelly Conlon, [https://archive.is/A45Hk This college was accredited by a DeVos-sanctioned group. We couldn’t find evidence of students or faculty.] Argus Leader, 15 February 2020.
</ref><ref>
Igor Dersysh, [https://www.salon.com/2020/02/18/agency-saved-by-devos-appears-to-have-accredited-a-college-with-no-students-faculty-or-classrooms/ Agency saved by DeVos appears to have accredited a college with no students, faculty or classrooms]. Salon, 18 February 2020.
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Erik Prince]] — her brother, who has been involved in running a number of "private security" ([[mercenary]]) firms

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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Categories: Atheophobia, Billionaires, Business, Christians, Creationists, Former U.S. Cabinet Members, Fundamentalists, Global warming denialists, Homophobes, Living people, Pseudoscience promoters, Right-wing activists, Transphobes, Trump administration, United States politicians, We're on a mission from God