Betsy DeVos resigns as education secretary

Education secretary Betsy DeVosBetsy DeVosDeVos makes final school choice presentation in letter to Congress Blackwater guard defends actions following Trump pardon, saying, ‘I’m just confident in the way I acted AP Trump pardons complement ‘Blackwater’ wrongs the Times of Israel submitted his resignation to President TrumpDonald Trump Trump acknowledges end of presidency after Congress certifies Biden victory Congress affirms Biden victory after rioters terrorized Third House lawmaker on Capitol Hill, tested positive for COVID-19 this week Thursday, making her the last in a line of senior officials to leave after the riot on the Capitol on Wednesday.

In his resignation letter, DeVos cited the violation of the Capitol perpetrated by violent pro-Trump supporters as an “inflection point.”

DeVos is the second member of the White House cabinet to resign due to the Capitol violation. Transport secretary Elaine chaoElaine ChaoWhite House aides head to exits after chaos on Capitol Hill Trump selects Hicks, Bondi, Grenell and other allies for positions Trump appoints Giuliani’s son on Holocaust Memorial Council tendered his resignation Thursday, directly citing events at Capitol Hill.

“We should recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments of your administration on behalf of the American people,” DeVos wrote to Trump. “Instead, we need to clean up the mess caused by the violent protesters invading the US Capitol in an attempt to undermine the affairs of the people. This behavior was unacceptable to our country. There is no doubt about the impact of your rhetoric on the situation, and that’s the inflection point for me. “

“Impressionable kids watch all of this and learn from us,” she continued. “I believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope they would emulate. They need to know from us that America is greater than what happened. yesterday.

“To this end, I am resigning today from my functions as of Friday January 8, to support the oath that I have taken to our Constitution, our people and our freedoms. It has been the honor of a lifetime to hold this position, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to serve America and its students, ”concluded DeVos.

During his tenure as Secretary of Education, DeVos faced a lot of controversy, largely due to his lack of experience in education. Before Trump asked her for the job, she had been a major donor to Republican campaigns.

DeVos sent a letter to Congress on Monday as part of one of his last acts as secretary, advocating to increase federal taxpayer dollars to private schools, a cause DeVos supported long before he became secretary of the education.

In a virtual meeting in December, DeVos reportedly told Education Department staff to “resist” Biden’s new administration.

“Let me leave you with this plea: resist,” DeVos said. “Be the resistance against the forces that will prevent you from doing what is right for the students. In everything you do, please put students first – always.

Updated: 9:32 p.m.

Brett Samuels contributed.