Soon after his questionable election in 2016, Donald Trump began putting together his list of cabinet members whose combined net worth was approximately $14 billion (you know, appointees to whom the average American could relate).
Betsy DeVos was one of those new cabinet members. Like Trump, she did her best to dismantle every positive achievement President Obama implemented that was beneficial to the people. DeVos then added her own policies that were proven to have a negative impact on the people.
After Democrats won majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections, and after painfully watching DeVos unravel the nation’s education policies that were already working, a good number of Democrats have now opted to go after DeVos by creating five House committees led by five powerhouse Democratic congressional members to investigate her. She can expect the worst after Democrats are sworn in this January. Politico reports:
As many as five Democratic-led House committees next year could take on DeVos over a range of issues such as her rollback of regulations aimed at predatory for-profit colleges, the stalled processing of student loan forgiveness and a rewrite of campus sexual assault policies.
“Betsy DeVos has brought a special mix of incompetence and malevolence to Washington — and that’s rocket fuel for every committee in a new Congress that will finally provide oversight,” said Seth Frotman, who resigned as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s top student loan official earlier in protest of Trump administration policies likely to be examined by Democrats.
Here are the five House Democrats poised to head the five committees.
Democratic California Rep. Mark Takano stated he would be examining DeVos’ regulations that derailed the benefits of tens of thousands of military veterans.
Connecticut’s Democrat House Rep. Rosa DeLauro is poised to lead the Appropriations subcommittee and will oversee DeVos’ education direction of funds.
DeLauro called DeVos’ record on student debt “appalling,” and added:
“I will make sure Secretary DeVos knows Americans want her to protect students and veterans, not the for-profit school industry,” she said.
Virginia’s Democratic House member Rep. Bobby Scott, who will most likely become chairman, has vowed to “act as a check on DeVos and the Trump administration Education Department.”
Due to become chairman of the Financial Services Committee, the outspoken Trump critic and Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters will also go after DeVos.
Waters (D-Calif.) earlier this month accused DeVos of a “full-on attack on civil rights protections for students—particularly students of color, students with disabilities, transgender students, and survivors of sexual assault.”
Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings is slated for chair of the House Oversight Committee. One of his goals will be to investigate and expose DeVos’ treatment of her agency’s employee union.
It’s not looking good for DeVos and there is a likely chance subpoenas will be issued to obtain information useful to the investigations. Given his history, it’s doubtful Trump will come to DeVos’ rescue unless it greatly benefits him in doing so. Either way, the committees are forming and the battles are set to begin. One could say DeVos’ cabinet party is over.
