Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, like Donald Trump, is objectionable in so many ways that it’s almost hard to really sink your teeth into any of them. But Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), David Cicilline (D-RI), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Mark Takano (D-CA), co-chairs of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, have zeroed in on one of them: DeVos’s troubling record on LGBT issues. In a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the House Democrats raise this concern, writing that “While Ms. DeVos’ stances on a number of public education issues raise concerns, we cannot hold our silence regarding her opposition to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students.”
Betsy DeVos’ career has been marked by repeated attempts to undermine the rights of the LGBT community. She and her family have donated extensively to groups which promote the idea that students who identify as LGBT must undergo “conversion” therapy and have also affiliated with groups that oppose anti-bullying legislation. The next Secretary of Education must represent all students in our country. Anyone who promotes such fervently anti-LGBT viewpoints is wholly unqualified to serve as the Secretary of Education.
Since 1998, Betsy DeVos and her family’s foundations have donated at least $6.1 million to Focus on the Family, a right-wing organization which has spent millions of dollars attempting to defeat marriage equality amendments at the state level. Even more troubling, this organization supported by the DeVos family promotes “conversion therapy,” opposes the right of LGBT parents to adopt children, and has referred to transgender individuals as “mentally ill.” This organization has even gone so far to oppose anti-bullying policies and opposes basic workplace protections for LGBT individuals. The DeVos family’s support for anti-LGBT groups and policies extends beyond just this organization to many other groups known for their anti-LGBT activities.
The letter calls on the Senate HELP Committee to “seek out answers regarding Ms. DeVos’s stance on important education equity issues, including her views on protecting LGBT students from bullying and discrimination in K-12 and higher education spaces,” and “stand up for the civil rights of LGBT students and ensure the next secretary opposes any action to roll back our progress toward equality.”
