Betsy DeVos' Leaked Comment Makes Waves After Encouraging Resistance To Biden Administration

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos called on incoming department officials to resist policy changes under President-elect Joe Biden's administration following his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Over the years, outgoing cabinet secretaries typically meet with the new team to make sure the transition of responsibilities is as seamless as possible. However, in a leaked recording that took place during a department-wide virtual meeting shared by Politico, DeVos appeared to discourage compliance when Biden takes office.

“Let me leave you with this plea: Resist,” DeVos said during the meeting. “Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students. In everything you do, please put students first — always.”

During DeVos’ time serving the Trump administration, she has criticized the public school structure and officials of the Department of Education, the publication noted.

“The secretary’s remarks come after nearly four years of frequently sparring with the career employees of her department,” reporter Michael Stratford wrote.

“She tangled with the agency’s union over reorganizations and workplace policies, such as teleworking rules, and blamed bureaucrats at the agency for making it difficult to get things done.”

Notably, DeVos pushed President Donald Trump's plan to reopen schools for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also received harsh criticism from Judge William Alsup, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, for issuing mass denials of student loan forgiveness applications.

“The Secretary’s new perfunctory denial notices... contradict her original justification for delay, raise substantial questions under [federal law], and may impose irreparable harm upon the class of student-loan borrowers,” Williams wrote in his decision.

Biden has yet to appoint her successor, but several names have been floated to take on the role, including Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau, interim commissioner of education for the state of New York Betty Rosa, and former Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón, according to HuffPost.

The Department of Education has not revealed whether DeVos will stay in her position until Biden’s inauguration.