Betsy DeVos

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DeVos Sued by AGs for Delay of Rules to Protect Students

Against abuses from for-profit colleges, per the suit brought by 19 attorneys general

(Newser) - Democratic attorneys general in 18 states and the District of Columbia are suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her decision to suspend rules meant to protect students from abuses by for-profit colleges, the AP reports. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington and demands implementation of borrower...

Education Dept Makes Big Change to Civil Rights Investigations

An internal memo rolls back Obama-era mandates

(Newser) - Under new head Betsy DeVos, the Department of Education will be easing up on investigations into civil rights complaints—investigations that were greatly expanded under President Obama, the New York Times reports. According to ProPublica , new guidelines were issued in a June 8 internal memo to replace Obama-era mandates. Under...

Angry Students Drown Out DeVos During Graduation Speech

The education secretary was speaking at a historically black university in Florida

(Newser) - Betsy DeVos was drowned out by boos when the education secretary attempted to deliver the commencement speech Wednesday at Florida's Bethune-Cookman University, Politico reports. According to Business Insider , students and audience members at the historically black university booed DeVos for nearly the entirety of her speech, even continuing to...

Obama Memos on Student Loans Revoked by Betsy DeVos

Consumer advocates worry it's bad news for borrowers

(Newser) - Consumer advocates are accusing the Education Department of caving to pressure from the student loan industry to the detriment of borrowers after Betsy DeVos rescinded two Obama administration memos Tuesday, USA Today reports. According to NBC News , the memos called for government contracts to be awarded to companies that had...

Post: Blackwater Founder Met With Russian on Trump's Behalf

Sources say he was trying to set up unofficial communications channel

(Newser) - Is Blackwater founder Erik Prince secretly doing outreach for the Trump administration? According to a Washington Post report that an administration official calls "ridiculous," Prince met a Russian official close to Vladimir Putin in the Seychelles days before Trump took office in an effort to set up a...

Big Student Loan Fees Back After Obama Memo Revoked

Loan guarantee agencies can again charge big fees on defaulters

(Newser) - Loan guarantee agencies are once again free to charge huge fees to Americans who've defaulted on their federal student loans after the Trump administration revoked Obama-era guidelines this week, the Washington Post reports. Agencies had been charging fees of up to 16% of principal and accrued interest when people...

DeVos Accused of Accidentally Praising Segregation

DeVos says historically black colleges gave students 'more options'

(Newser) - Betsy DeVos is being accused by experts of being "embarrassingly ignorant" and inadvertently praising segregation and Jim Crow in a statement on historically black colleges and universities released Monday night, Politico reports. "HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice," the education secretary said in...

DeVos &#39;Resisted Trump on Transgender Move&#39;
DeVos, Sessions Clashed
Over Transgender Decision
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 23, 2017 6:05 AM CST

DeVos, Sessions Clashed Over Transgender Decision

Jackie Evancho asks for Trump meeting

(Newser) - President Trump's reversal of former President Obama's directive on bathroom use for transgender students caused a clash inside his administration, sources say. GOP insiders tell the New York Times that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos clashed with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over the issue and told Trump she opposed...

US Dept. of Education Is Having a Terrible Day on Twitter

Tweets a typo, apologizes with a typo

(Newser) - The United States Department of Education is getting graded rather harshly after a Sunday morning tweet—"Education must not simply teach work - it must teach life."—that it attributed to one WEB "DeBois." Slight problem being that the NAACP co-founder it was trying to...

Protesters Block DeVos From Entering on 1st School Visit

New education secretary did eventually get into DC middle school

(Newser) - Betsy DeVos made her first visit to a public school as education secretary Friday, but a group of protesters initially barred her from entering Washington DC's Jefferson Middle School. One of them chanted, "Shame. Shame. Shame," as DeVos was forced to return to her car, reports ABC...

Pence Makes History With Vote for DeVos

For first time, a VP casts tie-breaking vote on Cabinet appointee

(Newser) - It took a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence, but the Senate has approved President Trump's nominee Betsy DeVos as education secretary. She will be sworn in later Tuesday. Democrats managed to force a 50-50 tie in the chamber when two Republicans joined them in opposition, which required...

Senators Kick Off All-Night Debate to Stop DeVos

Mike Pence could end up casting historic vote

(Newser) - Democratic senators are kicking off an all-night debate in a final effort to prevent the confirmation of the woman Charles Schumer says is the "least qualified" of President Trump's nominees. The Senate is set to vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary at noon Tuesday,...

Teacher Raises $60K to 'Buy' Senator's Vote on DeVos

Katherine Fritz says she's 'using satire' to make a point

(Newser) - When her repeated calls failed to convince Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania to vote against Betsy DeVos as secretary of Education when the vote is held Monday, Katherine Fritz decided to "buy" his vote instead. Aware that DeVos has donated about $55,800 to the Republican's campaign, the...

DeVos Clears One of Last Obstacles to Confirmation
DeVos Clears One of Last
Obstacles to Confirmation
the rundown
Feb 3, 2017 10:01 AM CST

DeVos Clears One of Last Obstacles to Confirmation

Vote will take place early next week

(Newser) - Betsy DeVos cleared a major hurdle in the Senate to become the next education secretary despite vigorous opposition from Democrats. Senators voted 52-48 to cut off debate at dawn Friday, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote next week on President Trump's nominee, reports the AP . Two Republican...

2 GOP Senators Voting Against DeVos, Which Could Mean a Tie

Mike Pence would then be the tie-breaker

(Newser) - Betsy DeVos' confirmation vote in the Senate Wednesday will be tight: Two Republican senators announced Wednesday that they will oppose DeVos' nomination to be secretary of Education. Assuming all of the Senate's 48 Democrats also oppose DeVos, that means she'd have 50 yes votes and 50 no votes...

DeVos Clears Committee as Questions About Citing Raised

Vote on Betsy DeVos as education secretary moves to Senate floor

(Newser) - It's now up to the Senate to decide whether Betsy DeVos will be America's next education secretary. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Tuesday voted 12-11 along party lines to send the Michigan billionaire's nomination to the floor, though two Republicans on the...

GOP to Dems Skipping Cabinet Votes: 'Stop Acting Like Idiots'

Democrats want more information before votes for Mnuchin for Treasury, Price for HHS

(Newser) - Senate confirmation hearings for President Trump's Cabinet choices got heated Tuesday—or at least the ones that took place. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee angered not only by Trump's recent travel ban , but also by his firing of acting AG Sally Yates , forced votes Tuesday to be...

DeVos: Schools Might Need Guns to Defend Against Bears

She defends school choice in testy Senate hearing

(Newser) - Education Secretary hopeful Betsy DeVos was peppered with questions from time-limited Democrats during a testy Senate hearing Tuesday, and the exchange getting the most attention involves bears. When Sen. Chris Murphy asked if she believes that there's no place for guns in school, she referred to a school in...

One Hiccup as Confirmation Hearings Get Underway

Education pick Betsy DeVos' hearing is delayed a week

(Newser) - A busy schedule of confirmation hearings is now underway, with one of the most high-profile nominations leading off. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., was being grilled by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in his bid to become attorney general, reports the Los Angeles Times . (You can follow along live via...

Trump Names His Secretary of Education

And confirms Gov. Nikki Haley as ambassador to UN

(Newser) - President-elect Donald Trump has chosen prominent charter school advocate Betsy DeVos as his secretary of education, the AP reports. It's also been confirmed that Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will serve as US ambassador to the UN . Together, they are the first women selected for top-level administration posts in Trump'...

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