Betsy DeVos, Charter-School Advocate, Is Trump’s Pick for Education Secretary

The Chronicle of Higher Education.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Betsy DeVos, a charter-school advocate, to be his secretary of education.

Ms. DeVos, 58, is chairwoman of the American Federation for Children, a group that pushes for the expansion of charter schools and voucher programs. Ms. DeVos earned her bachelor’s degree from Calvin College, and her work has mostly centered on elementary and secondary education.

For more on this key appointment, including analysis and reaction, see this new Chronicle article.

She is a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. The DeVos family, which includes a co-founder of the direct-selling company Amway, is known for its philanthropy and support of conservative causes. In 2006, Ms. DeVos’s husband, Dick, ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for governor of Michigan.

Ms. DeVos weighed in on her selection as education secretary on Twitter, and directed requests for comment to Mr. Trump’s transition team:

In a written statement, Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who is chairman of the U.S. Senate education committee, called Ms. DeVos an “excellent choice.” He added that he looked forward to working with her on the coming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and in working to cut the “jungle of red tape that makes it more difficult for students to obtain financial aid and for administrators to manage America’s 6,000 colleges and universities.”