Ahead of Senate Floor Vote Demos Calls DeVos Dangerous for Higher Education

Washington, DC – Next week, the Senate will vote on President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, Betsy DeVos. Ahead of the vote, Mark Huelsman, Senior Policy Analyst and higher education expert at Demos, issued the follow statement:

“Betsy DeVos’ HELP committee hearing only raised more concerns regarding her qualifications and temperament to serve as Secretary of Education. In both her verbal testimony and written responses, DeVos showed a deep lack of understanding for the goals of basic higher education policies and the role of the Department of Education in protecting students, borrowers, and taxpayers.

“Her refusal to commit to basic, commonsense student protections like the Total and Permanent Disability loan discharge and “Borrower Defense” regulations, as well as bedrock programs like the Pell Grant, is disconcerting. And her apparent disdain for the Gainful Employment rule, which protects students and prevents taxpayers from funding unscrupulous for-profit colleges, is a clear signal that she does not intend to police the abuses by the worst actors in our higher education system. And DeVos’ dearth of experience, and inability to articulate a deep understanding of the college affordability crisis facing many families today, presents a clear danger to our country’s higher education system. 

“If the Senate confirms DeVos it will do so at the risk of students, parents and the future of our economy. For all of these reasons we urge senators to vote no to DeVos’ nomination.”

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