Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for president, or haven’t you heard? She’s holding rallies and town halls while she criss-crosses the country, pushing her numerous policy initiatives and plans to help fix some of the enormous economic and social inequalities Americans face. One of her campaign promises is to fix many of our current top-down leadership issues, by not only replacing Donald Trump’s incompetent and corrupt cabinet, but replacing them with the kinds of people one should expect in those positions of authority. Sadly for the United States and its school-age children (and America’s education debt-laden adults), one of the easiest targets is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
DeVos’ destructive tenure as education secretary has been fought by people like Warren, and the senator has been open about her disdain for the education secretary’s ignorance—willful or criminally stupid—all along. She’s called her “the worst secretary of education we have ever seen.” So, when Warren brought up DeVos during a stump speech at nonprofit organizationFocus Hope in Detroit on Tuesday, it wasn’t surprising at all. What was surprising but also heartening was the full-throated, enthusiastic response and standing ovation she received from those in attendance. It’s worth watching.
Whether DeVos is arguing in front of Congress for larger class sizes and less teachers, attacking rape survivors’ rights, or handing over bundles of cash to con-men predatory loan lenders, DeVos has shown herself to be something of a two-dimensional villain. Fixing what Trump and DeVos and their backers have destroyed will take a lot of time and resources. Whoever comes out on top after this primary season ends needs to have real plans, and they need to win. Our children need us to win in November.