America Rising: 20 Governors Write in Support of Betsy DeVos

A press release from America Rising Squared, the research arm of PAC America Rising, is announcing a letter signed by 20 governors in support of Betsy DeVos as the next head of the federal department of education.

The letter is addressed to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who heads the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The signers state that they “take issue with many of the mandates imposed on states,” despite the fact that “state and local governments bear the chief responsibility” for financing K-12 education systems.

They continue:

That is why we strongly support Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education. Betsy DeVos will fight to streamline the federal education bureaucracy, return authority back to states and local school boards, and ensure that more dollars are reaching the classroom.

Betsy DeVos also is a passionate supporter of increasing parental engagement in their children’s education and of harnessing the power of competition to drive improvement in all K-12 schools, whether they be public, private or virtual.

“[W]e look forward to partnering with Betsy DeVos to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach his or her potential in the classroom,” the governors write.

The letter is signed by Governors Rick Snyder, Michigan; Robert Bentley, Alabama; Doug Ducey, Arizona; Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas; Edward Baza Calvo, Guam; Bruce Rauner, Illinois; Eric Holcomb, Indiana; Sam Brownback, Kansas; Paul LePage, Maine; Phil Bryant, Mississippi; Eric Greitens, Missouri; Pete Ricketts, Nebraska; Brian Sandoval, Nevada; Chris Christie, New Jersey; Susana Martinez, New Mexico; Ralph Torres, Northern Mariana Islands; Mary Fallin, Oklahoma; Bill Haslam, Tennessee; Greg Abbott, Texas; and Scott Walker, Wisconsin.

DeVos’ confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 17.

Praise for DeVos has also come from former GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former education secretary William Bennett, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Bill Gates-funded Fordham Institute.