Secretary DeVos Thinks 2020 Might Be the Perfect Time to Step Down

Written by adminMay 10, 2019
Politics

During the Education Writers Association conference, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was asked a simple question about her future. The question was, if President Trump wins a second term, will she commit to serving another four years? That is a promise she wasn’t ready to make. It’s almost sounded as if she’s had enough.

DeVos is currently one of the longest-serving cabinet members to President Trump. While most others have disappointed the president in some capacity, she has remained in her spot. But it appears as if remaining loyal to this president comes with a lot of exhausting bagging. That includes keeping up with the constant negative press.

“I’m not sure my husband would be okay with that,” DeVos said during the Q&A portion of the Education Writers Association conference in Baltimore. “I never imagined I’d be a focus of your coverage. I don’t enjoy the publicity that comes with my position. I don’t love being up on stage or on any kind of platform. I’m an introvert.”

DeVos and Trump

One of the main reasons why DeVos has remained unscathed has to do with President Trump’s main focus. Education hasn’t been a large priority for him. That also means Trump hasn’t taken many steps to help push through DeVos’ “school of choice” platform. Her other ideas include offering tax credits for scholarships.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans have supported any of her ideas so far. That may be a large factor in her wanting to leave the position. If no one cares about education, why bothering continuing to try? Right now, both parties seem more interested in fighting over immigration and the economy. Even the border wall and infrastructure is getting more play than education.

DeVos is also frustrated with reporters and how they mischaracterize her ideas. During her speech at the association on Monday, she claimed her name was being used as “clickbait”. “As much as many in the media use my name as clickbait or try to make it all about me, it’s not,” she said. “Education is not about Betsy DeVos nor any other individual.”

Improving Teachers Pay

Another buzzworthy moment during DeVos’ speech included her shot at the current head of the American Federation of Teachers. She doesn’t think teachers are being paid nearly enough, forcing them to walk out of classrooms. If more teachers are leaving and protesting, then that hurts the students more than anything.

“We think, I think, teaching as a profession should be a highly honored and respected profession and I think it’s been de-professionalized in many ways,” she said. “And I think great teachers … perhaps should be making at least half as much as what Randi Weingarten does at half a million dollars a year.”

Whether DeVos leaves most likely depends on her relationship with President Trump. He may decide to coax her to stay by putting more emphasis on education during his potential second term. We’re still over a year away before the 2020 election, so anything can happen at this point.

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Federal Judge Rules Against Betsy DeVos in Student Loan Forgiveness Case

Written by adminSeptember 14, 2018
Student Loan Consolidation

It was only a few days ago that Financial Helpers reported on this developing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos story. She, along with the Trump administration, was purposely keeping students from obtaining student loan forgiveness. This is in direct violation of an Obama-era law that offered amnesty in the event of for-profit scams and fraud.

Instead of offering full student loan forgiveness, DeVos was in favor of a tiered program. This program would award differing amounts of loan forgiveness based on their income. If they made more money from their degree, the less they’d have forgiven. Rather than 100% of their loans wiped clean, the average was about 30%.

http://financialhelpers.com/new-partial-student-loan-forgiveness-tiered-program-being-worked-out/

According to the DeVos, it’s unfair for the taxpayers to brunt the full burden of student loan forgiveness laws. However, on Wednesday, a federal judge rebuked the education secretary. It delivers a substantial blow to the Trump administration’s desire to cozy up to financial institutions rather than defrauded students.

The Ruling Against DeVos

Many critics of DeVos argue that she’s a shill for the financial institutions that offer student loans. She brought several big names from for-profit schools onto her staff. It’s easy to see why the Trump administration was in favor of reducing strict regulations that prevented the predatory behavior. Yet, according to a federal judge, they were breaking the law.

According to the judge, DeVos’ actions against delaying rules enacted under President Obama were “arbitrary and capricious.” Attorney Generals from 19 states, all Democrats, filed a lawsuit against DeVos for not following these rules. She defended her actions, saying Obama’s ruling was “a muddled process that’s unfair to students and schools.”

“It’s a really big deal, it’s an incredibly important win for student borrowers and really for anyone who cares about having a government that operates under the rule of law as opposed to as a pawn of industry,” said Toby Merril, a litigator at Harvard University’s Project on Predatory Student Lending.

Actions Towards Student Loan Forgiveness Laws

It’s still unknown how this ruling will impact how the Trump administration will handle student loan forgiveness going forward. They have an appointment later today with the judge to discuss possible remedies. Advocates for students hope the judge restores the Obama rules to ensure they have protection from predators.

Another lawsuit is waiting in the wings to tackle the partial loan forgiveness program again. Until the case is settled, DeVos will most likely be ordered to abide by the current rules. It’s unknown whether Wednesday’s ruling will impact how the Department of Education will handle defrauded student cases moving forward.

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