Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos
Official portrait, 2017
11th United States Secretary of Education
In office
February 7, 2017 – January 8, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyMick Zais
Preceded byJohn King Jr.
Succeeded byMiguel Cardona
Chair of the Michigan Republican Party
In office
2003–2005
Preceded byGerald Hills
Succeeded bySaul Anuzis
In office
1996–2000
Preceded bySusy Avery
Succeeded byGerald Hills
Personal details
Born
Elisabeth Dee Prince

(1958-01-08) January 8, 1958 (age 66)
Holland, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1979)​
Children4
Parent
RelativesErik Prince (brother)
EducationCalvin College (BA)

Elisabeth Dee DeVos (/dəˈvɒs/ də-VOSS; née Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her conservative political activism,[1] and particularly her support for school choice, school voucher programs, and charter schools.[2][3][4][5] She was Republican national committeewoman for Michigan from 1992 to 1997 and served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000, and again from 2003 to 2005. She has advocated for the Detroit charter school system[6][7] and she is a former member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has served as chair of the board of the Alliance for School Choice and the Acton Institute and headed the All Children Matter PAC.[8]

DeVos is married to former Amway CEO Dick DeVos.[9][10] Her brother, Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, is the founder of Blackwater USA.[11][12][13] Their father is billionaire industrialist Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation.[12][13][14][15] In 2016, the family was listed by Forbes as the 88th-richest in America, with an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion.[16]

On November 23, 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education in his administration.[17] On January 31, following strong opposition to the nomination from Democrats, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved her nomination on a party-line vote, sending her nomination to the Senate floor.[18] On February 7, 2017, she was confirmed by the Senate by a 51–50 margin, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie in favor of her nomination. This was the first time in U.S. history that a Cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by the vice president's tiebreaking vote.[19][20][21]

On January 7, 2021, DeVos tendered her resignation as education secretary as a result of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, saying to President Trump in her resignation letter, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation."[22] Her resignation took effect on January 8, 2021, twelve days before her term would have ended with the inauguration of Joe Biden as president.

  1. ^ Mayer, Jane (2016). Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday. pp. 232–236.
  2. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (February 7, 2017). "Betsy DeVos: 5 faith facts to know about the Education secretary". USA Today. Retrieved February 11, 2017. DeVos grew up in the Christian Reformed Church and graduated from schools affiliated with the tradition: Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Mich., and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
  3. ^ Pulliam Bailey, Sarah (November 23, 2016). "Betsy DeVos, Trump's education pick, is a billionaire with deep ties to the Christian Reformed community". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Politico_120216 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Stewart, Katherine (December 13, 2016). "Betsy DeVos and God's Plan for Schools". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  6. ^ Ponnuru, Ramesh (November 28, 2016). "DeVos and Detroit's Charter Schools". National Review. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Zernike, Kate (June 28, 2016). "A Sea of Charter Schools in Detroit Leaves Students Adrift". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Trump's education secretary pick led group that owes millions in election fines". POLITICO. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  9. ^ Peterson-Withorn, Chase (November 23, 2016). "Trump Picks Betsy DeVos, Daughter-in-Law of Billionaire Amway Cofounder, for Education Secretary". Forbes. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "How Betsy DeVos Could Fix America's Broken Education System". The New Hampshire Review. January 22, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  11. ^ Scahill, Jeremy (2008). Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Arm. Nation Books. ASIN B0097CYTYA.Prince, Erik (2014). Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror. Portfolio. ISBN 978-1-59184-745-8.
  12. ^ a b "Investor pleads guilty in philanthropist fraud case," March 16, 2016, Associated Press in Fox News, retrieved September 4, 2021
  13. ^ a b "'I'm Tired of America Wasting Our Blood and Treasure' The Strange Ascent of Betsy DeVos and Erik Prince," October 2018, Vanity Fair, retrieved September 4, 2021
  14. ^ ""Edgar D. Prince". New Netherland Institute.
  15. ^ Benjamin Wermund and Kimberly Hefling (November 25, 2016). "Trump's education secretary pick supported anti-gay causes". Politico. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  16. ^ "2016 Forbes 400". Forbes. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  17. ^ Brown, Emma (November 23, 2016). "Trump picks billionaire Betsy DeVos, school voucher advocate, as education secretary". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference hill-committee-approves was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Hutterman, Emmarie (February 7, 2017). "Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  20. ^ Elving, Ron (February 7, 2017). "Pence Becomes First VP to Break Senate Tie over Cabinet Nomination". NPR. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  21. ^ Huetteman, Emmarie (February 7, 2017). "Mike Pence's Vote on a Cabinet Nominee Would Be Historic". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  22. ^ Andrews, Natalie; Leary, Alex (January 7, 2021). "Schumer, Pelosi Call for Trump's Removal After Capitol Riot". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2021.