For a president who has a uniquely hostile relationship with the press, positive news cycles are both rare and fleeting. The Trump team displayed remarkable discipline by refusing to step on the president’s well-received address to a joint session of Congress.
Category: Education
Senate Democrats seek answers about a Trump higher ed task force
Betsy DeVos greets Sen. Patty Murray before her confirmation hearing on Jan. 17. DeVos took office as education secretary on Feb. 7. Senate Democrats are asking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for details on a higher education task force that the president of Liberty University says the Trump administration has asked him to lead. In a letter to DeVos released Thursday, six lawmakers said they are concerned that there has been no public explanation by the president or the administration about the purview of the task force.
Closer look doesn’t cast Pence, DeVos in pleasant light
Billionaire Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. secretary of education, just gave Vice President Mike Pence his Gloria Swanson/”Sunset Boulevard” moment: Pence, a former governor and congressman from Indiana, cast the deciding vote in the U.S. Senate to confirm DeVos. Pence’s vote was the first time in U.S. history a vice president has had to break a tie to confirm a Cabinet appointee.
It’s not just Donald Trump feuding with the courts. States are doing it, too.
In a speech to law enforcement officials, Feb. 8, President Trump read federal law giving broad him broad authority to set immigration restrictions, adding, “a bad high school student would understand this.” As President Trump escalates his confrontation with the judiciary branch in tweets and speeches, lawmakers in some half a dozen states are testing their state courts’ independence with actual legislation.
Protest marks public school visit by new education secretary
Protesters, including Ari Schwartz, center, gather outside Jefferson Middle School in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, where Education Secretary Betsy DeVos paid her first visit as education secretary in a bid to mend fences with educators after a bruising confirmation battle.
Protest marks public school visit by new education secretary Betsy DeVos
Protesters, including Ari Schwartz, center, gather outside Jefferson Middle School in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, where Education Secretary Betsy DeVos paid her first visit as education secretary in a bid to mend fences with educators after a bruising confirmation battle. /// —–Original Message—– From: Danilova, Maria Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 11:15 AM To: waspi@ap.org Subject: Devos Protest DQoNCg0KU2VudCBmcm9tIG15IGlQaG9uZQ== WASHINGTON – Angry activists shouted “stand up, fight back” and one protester was arrested, as Betsy DeVos made her first visit to a public school Friday as education secretary.
Betsy DeVos’s Biggest Sin is Supporting School Choice, Not Lack of Experience
The Democrats, along with their cohorts in the media, did a terrific job in making Betsy DeVos’s lack of experience in the public school system the be-all, end-all of whether or not somebody can run the Department of Education. The caterwauling from Democrats, ignorant celebrities, and dunderhead media personalities managed to advance that narrative.
Al Franken slams new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: ‘The…
After Betsy DeVos was confirmed as secretary of education on Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota issued a blistering statement, calling her unqualified for the job. “It’s not a job for amateurs who don’t know the first thing about education,” the statement said .
Secret money is fueling pro-Betsy DeVos ad campaigns
But that’s not stopping several conservative organizations from launching ad blitzes promoting Trump’s Cabinet picks – most notably Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, who critics have panned as a wealthy partisan hack with no practical experience in public education. Two conservative nonprofit groups in particular, the Club for Growth and America Next , are pushing back hard, producing broadcast television ads supporting confirmation of DeVos, a GOP megadonor and staunch advocate for charter schools and school vouchers.
Elect, don’t appoint, state schools chief
Partisan bickering and the resulting gridlock can be deeply frustrating for constituents. Nothing gets done because one side won’t recognize that the other has a good solution, or doesn’t want the other side to get any credit.
Legislators start work, Nevada’s 1st black Speaker elected
Rep. Jason Frierson made history Monday by becoming Nevada’s first black Assembly Speaker as the state’s 63 lawmakers opened their legislative session focusing on issues ranging from the state budget to the future of an unimplemented law that would give parents state funding to help pay for private school. Frierson, D-Las Vegas, was elected to lead the Legislature’s lower chamber as lawmakers started work in the session that lasts until June 5. It also marked the first time that both the state Assembly and Senate will be led at the same time by black legislators.
Lawmakers Gather For Ceremony, Week 1 At Nevada Legislature
Nevada legislators are converging on Carson City to start the biennial lawmaking process Monday and resolve budget conflicts that could be seriously complicated by efforts in Washington, D.C., to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Democrats will control both legislative chambers, holding an 11-9-1 majority in the state Senate and a 27-15 majority in the Assembly.
DeVos moves closer to confirmation as education secretary
Betsy DeVos moved closer toward confirmation as education secretary Friday after clearing a major hurdle in the Senate, even as Democrats and labour unions fervently sought another Republican vote against her. Tensions flew on the Senate floor during an early-morning session, with a senior Republican saying DeVos will make an “excellent” secretary and a top Democrat calling her “one of the worst nominees.”
DeVos clears Senate hurdle toward becoming ed secy
Betsy DeVos’s embattled nomination for education secretary cleared another hurdle in the Senate on Friday as Republicans overpowered fierce resistance from Democrats. Senators voted 52-48 to cut off debate in an early-morning session, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote next week on President Donald Trump’s nominee.
The Agenda: Scott and Graham will support DeVos; SC and federal…
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott posted a photo of himself manning the phone lines at his office this week ahead of contentious cabinet confirmation votes. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s phone lines have been overwhelmed with calls the past few weeks urging the senator to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the federal Department of Education.
What to watch: Border wall windfall? Abbott and ‘Muslim Day’
Donald Trump has formally ordered up his border wall built and it could cost the federal government as much as $30 billion. Top Republicans in the Texas Legislature have for months speculated that walling off the U.S.-Mexico border could save the state money on having to use its own law enforcement personnel to help secure the area.
Trump pick for ed secretary a ‘slap in the face,’ N.J. teachers say
Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next secretary of education, had advocated for school choice and voucher programs. Both of New Jersey’s senators said they plan to vote against her confirmation.
6 Key Federal Policy Areas to Watch Under Trump
President Donald Trump said less about education on the campaign trail than almost any major-party nominee recent in history, except for a high-profile proposal on single issue: school vouchers. But his ascendance to the White House could upend K-12 education in ways that are felt from the U.S. Department of Education’s headquarters in Washington to urban schools that serve big numbers of immigrant students.
Schuette joins blind man’s United States Supreme Court lawsuit
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed a brief against the American Bar Association. A discrimination case was filed last month in the United States Supreme Court.
Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said – and refused to say – at her confirmation hearing
Sen. Elizabeth Warren , with Sen. Chris Murphy at the hearing for Betsy DeVos. At her contentious confirmation hearing as Donald Trump’s nominee to be education secretary on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was asked a question by Sen. Al Franken about an important education debate involving how student progress should be measured.
Betsy DeVos is pro-charter schools, but this charter school teacher is anti-DeVos
Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is a long-time Republican donor. DeVos is an advocate of charter schools, school voucher programs, and tax credits for businesses that give private scholarships.
Betsy DeVos omitted $125,000 anti-union political donation from Senate disclosure form
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team acknowledged Friday that Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, omitted a $125,000 political donation from disclosures she submitted to a Senate committee in advance of her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday. “We appreciate this being called to our attention and we will be updating our committee submission,” a transition team spokeswoman said Friday.
For better schools, abolish the politicized Department of Education…
President Bush spends time with students at Pierre Laclede elementary school in St. Louis on Jan. 5, 2004, as part of a celebration of the two year anniversary of the “No Child Left Behind Act.” President Bush spends time with students at Pierre Laclede elementary school in St. Louis on Jan. 5, 2004, as part of a celebration of the two year anniversary of the “No Child Left Behind Act.”
Herea s Betsy DeVosa s financial disclosure form. Read what Trumpa s…
Congress has scheduled a Jan. 11 confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, even as opposition to her is growing and Democrats are reportedly trying to postpone the proceedings until she fully discloses information about her finances and conflicts of interest. DeVos is a Michigan billionaire who is a former Republican Party state chairman and a longtime school-choice activist.