Betsy DeVos would work for Trump again if he agreed to "phasing out" the Department of Education

The former secretary of Education resigned after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol

By Marin Scotten

News Fellow

Published August 12, 2024 11:22AM (EDT)

Betsy DeVos speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House on Thursday, July 09, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Betsy DeVos speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House on Thursday, July 09, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has said she would serve a second term under Donald Trump if he wins in November, despite previously resigning from his administration after the attack on the U.S. capitol on Jan. 6, The Detroit News reported.

DeVos resigned in 2021, the day after the attack, calling it “unconscionable for our country” and directly blaming Trump’s rhetoric for inciting violence. 

The Michigan billionaire told The Detroit News she would resume her post only under certain conditions, though she was doubtful Trump would bring her back on.

"I don't think President Trump would ask me to again. But if he did, I would want to do so only if it was with the goal of phasing out the Department of Education as we tried to do through budgetary process in the first administration," Devos said. "And also getting a commitment to passing a major education freedom bill in the form of a tax credit mechanism at the Department of Treasury."

While she was secretary of Education, DeVos, who had no prior experience working in the field, fought for the privatization of public schools, rolled back protections for transgender students and advocated for guns in schools.

In her 2021 resignation letter, DeVos wrote that her tenure gave her the opportunity to advocate for “the forgotten students the traditional system leaves behind,” particularly throughout the global pandemic.

Despite her previous misgivings, DeVos last week said she is “definitely supporting the Republican ticket,” The Detroit News reported.


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