In her 2020 budget request to Congress, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos fell back on her old standby: ruthlessly stripping money away from disadvantaged groups. Devos’s proposed budget even went so far as to eliminate the federal earmark for the Special Olympics.
Fortunately for the country and for all of us watching from home, DeVos had to defend that budget in front of the House Appropriations Committee earlier today. And even more fortunately, that committee includes Barbara Lee, who promptly raked DeVos over the coals—something that is becoming a personal hobby of hers, considering she did it last time DeVos had to sit in front of her as well.
Let’s go through some highlights.
In this clip (h/t to the Daily Beast’s Tim Burke), Lee noted how DeVos’ atrocious proposals would virtually dismantle public education and kick every vulnerable population on the way down for good measure.
Lee then hammered DeVos on the Special Olympics, privatizing public education, and cutting programs that help minority students, including angrily demanding a report on school desegregation that Lee said she has been waiting for for two years.
Vox’s Aaron Rupar has a thread of some of the back-and-forth over racial discrimination in schools:
On a related note, here’s a tweet from Devos from 2017:
“Love all the work you do, Tim, two years from now I’m going to submit a budget proposal that guts federal funding for your organization. Have a great day!”
Watch the full exchange below.