DeVry, DeVos, Durham (Allison Gill and Andrew Torrez; Cleanup on Aisle 45 podcast Episode 58)

This week: Biden’s Department of Education approved $2 billion in loan relief for more than 107,000 borrowers through borrower defense - many of those cases DeVoss had just blanket denied; Durham “clears up” his most recent filing; Judge Mehta makes a ruling on Swalwell’s Klan suit against Trump, Junior, Guiliani, and Brooks; and more.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-2err4-12bfdbcc

DeVos-Linked Groups Seek to Undermine Michigan Redistricting Commission

An independent commission is trying to fix Michigan's gerrymandered congressional map — but conservative groups are organizing to stop them...

https://theintercept.com/2021/10/14/michigan-redistricting-betsy-devos/

Five key moments from education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona’s confirmation hearing - The Washington Post

...Cardona's responses on school choice underscored Biden's stated education priority of improving neighborhood public schools. This is in stark contrast with DeVos's agenda, which was to expand alternatives to publicly funded neighborhood schools. ..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/02/03/five-key-moments-at-cardona-education-confirmation-hearing/

US education secretary Betsy DeVos resigns, blaming Trump 'rhetoric' for violence | US news | The Guardian

"There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me," she wrote, adding that her resignation would be effective on Friday.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/07/trump-adviser-resigns-two-other-senior-officials-consider-quitting-matt-pottinger

Betsy DeVos bashes student debt forgiveness, free college movement - The Washington Post

...But to Biden and many liberal lawmakers, easing the financial burden of higher education will play a crucial role in delivering economic prosperity.....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/12/01/devos-debt-forgiveness-free-college/

Judge blasts DeVos’ sweeping denials of student loan relief claims as ‘disturbingly Kafkaesque’ - POLITICO

The judge ruled that DeVos had undermined the deal by denying large swaths of the claims without sufficient explanation.....
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/20/judge-blasts-devos-student-loan-relief-430341

Federal judge halts Betsy DeVos’s controversial rule sending coronavirus aid to private schools -- The Washington Post

A federal judge in Washington state temporarily blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from enforcing a controversial rule that directs states to give private schools a bigger share of federal coronavirus aid than Congress had intended.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/08/23/federal-judge-halts-betsy-devoss-controversial-rule-sending-coronavirus-aid-private-schools/

Dream Center: DeVos aide Diane Auer Jones helped for-profit Art Institutes, Argosy University, texts and emails show - The Washington Post

For the past year, the Education Department has denied that a top official went out of her way to help Dream Center Education Holdings, owner of the Art Institutes, South University and Argosy University, as the company spiraled into insolvency. But a batch of text messages, emails and letters shed new light on Dream Center’s relationship with Diane Auer Jones, the head of higher education policy at the department, and her efforts to help the company regain accreditation at two of its schools.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/28/dream-center-art-institutes-argosy-devos/

What pediatricians’ group really said about opening schools - The Washington Post

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently issued guidance saying that school districts should try to get students back to campuses this fall for their health — and the Trump administration has used it to bolster its new push to force public schools to open fully for the 2020-21 academic year. But the initial statement never was an endorsement of the call by President Trump for all schools to fully reopen — and the organization has now attempted to directly distance itself from the administration’s belligerent stance on reopening....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/13/trump-administration-cites-american-academy-pediatrics-make-its-case-school-reopening-heres-what-aap-really-said/

Why the DeVos family's backing of the Michigan protests is no surprise

The Trump-supporting education secretary and her billionaire family have for years promoted rightwing causes and candidates
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/26/devos-family-michigan-protest-rightwing-donors

A DeVos-Linked Group Promoted the Right-Wing “Operation Gridlock” Tantrum in Michigan – Mother Jones

Earlier this week, hundreds of demonstrators blocked the streets of Lansing, Michigan, and defied an executive order from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shelter in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The protest, known as “Operation Gridlock,” featured a fair share of MAGA hats, Trump flags, at least one Confederate flag, chants of “Lock her up!” in reference to Whitmer, and far-right groups from the Proud Boys to the Michigan Liberty Militia. They clogged up the streets outside the state Capitol and defied Whitmer’s ban on public gatherings. ...
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/04/a-devos-linked-group-promoted-the-right-wing-operation-gridlock-tantrum-in-michigan/

Conservative group linked to DeVos family organizes protest of coronavirus restrictions in Michigan – Raw Story

Protesters rallied around the country this week against stay-at-home orders forcing nonessential businesses to shut down, but Michigan’s governor warned that they may have backfired by creating “a need to lengthen” the lockdowns.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/conservative-group-linked-to-devos-family-organizes-protest-of-coronavirus-restrictions-in-michigan/

A caravan of angry Michiganders exposes the complicated politics of the coronavirus shutdown - The Washington Post

As I write, streets in Michigan’s capital of Lansing are crowded with cars and pickup trucks. It’s a protest for the coronavirus era, with attendees encouraged to stay in their vehicles, expressing their displeasure with the state’s stay-at-home order by their presence and no small amount of horn-honking.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/15/an-caravan-angry-michiganders-exposes-complicated-politics-coronavirus-shutdown/

Senate Dems blister DeVos on proposed education budget | TheHill

Senate Democrats grilled Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on her proposed budget at a subcommittee hearing Thursday morning. The proposed budget would slash the federal education spending by more than $6 billion, a decrease of more than 8.5 percent.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/486179-senate-dems-blister-devos-on-proposed-education-budget

Trump attack on 'government schools' undermines pillar of US democracy

Trump and DeVos are peddling a dangerous vision of private education and individual freedom that undermines a fundamental pillar of our democracy. ....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/14/donald-trump-education-freedom-school-choice-vouchers-column/4738012002/

Why charter school leaders are furious at Trump and Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post

Their budget calls for the elimination of the federal Charter Schools Program.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/02/11/why-charter-school-leaders-are-furious-trump-devos/

MUST-WATCH: Democrat goes viral calling Betsy DeVos corrupt to her face

BREAKING: Democratic lawmaker Josh Harder just went viral calling Betsy DeVos corrupt to her face.
https://youtu.be/5tgg0wh4Xqg

DeVos Testifies Over Relief For Defrauded Student Borrowers : NPR

DeVos testified before the House education committee one day after NPR published internal memos showing that the secretary overruled her own department's findings that borrowers deserved full relief from their loans, because their college credits are essentially worthless. Hundreds of thousands of borrowers are in limbo, and several members referred to the memos in their questioning. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/12/787061210/house-democrats-grill-betsy-devos-over-denying-borrower-relief

Report: Federal government wasted millions of dollars on charter schools that never opened - The Washington Post

Michigan, Betsy DeVos's home state, had the most charters that got federal money but never opened, according to the report from a public education advocacy group.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/12/09/report-federal-government-wasted-millions-dollars-charter-schools-that-never-opened/

DeVos cancels nearly $11 million in student loans that the Education Dept. sent to unaccredited for-profit colleges - The Washington Post

The Education Department said Friday it will cancel federal loans provided last year to students at four Art Institutes locations after revelations that officials knew the for-profit colleges were not accredited and ineligible to receive such aid. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/11/08/devos-cancels-nearly-million-student-loans-that-education-dept-sent-unaccredited-for-profit-colleges/