Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s choice to serve as Secretary of Education, has been a controversial choice from the beginning. And today was supposed to be when a Senate panel would vote to decide whether or not the DeVos nomination goes forward.
But new evidence uncovered by the Washington Post may well bring her confirmation to a screeching halt.
The Post reports that DeVos plagiarized her responses in a questionnaire she submitted to top Democrats on Monday. DeVos, the Post notes, answered several questions with:
“Phrases from other sources without attribution — including from a top Obama administration civil rights official.”
In one example, for her response to a question about addressing LGBTQ bullying, DeVos wrote:
“Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow.”
That phrase is almost word for word the same as President Obama’s former Justice Department civil rights division head, Vanita Gupta, who commented in 2016:
“Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment that allows them to thrive and grow.”
Charges of plagiarism caused Trump’s pick to be senior communications director for the National Security Council, Monica Crowley, to withdraw her name from consideration when it was discovered that she had plagiarized large portions of her Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia University.
What is most disturbing about the actions by DeVos is that she wants to serve as the head of a department which will oversee public education in the United States. Do we want our children’s education to be under the supervision of a woman who steals answers instead of using her own words? What kind of example does this set for every student in this country?
Also, DeVos is a threat to public education and would love to see federal education funds used to pay for student tuition at religious and private schools instead of strengthening the existing public schools.
Like Donald Trump and his entire administration, Betsy DeVos is a fraud and a con. She should withdraw her name from consideration or be rejected by the Senate.
Featured Image Via NBC News
