DeVos had never attended a public school, never taught in one, and never sent her children to one. Her entire educational background and advocacy work was in the school choice and voucher movement — the ideological project of redirecting public education funding to private institutions. She was put in charge of the department that oversees 50 million public school students.
The Confirmation.
DeVos's confirmation hearing was widely panned. She suggested schools in Wyoming might need guns to protect against grizzly bears. She was unable to articulate the difference between proficiency and growth as measures of student achievement. She expressed uncertainty about whether federal law requires equal treatment of students with disabilities in private schools receiving public funds. Two Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — voted against her, creating a 50-50 tie that required Vice President Pence to cast the tiebreaking vote. It was the first time in US history a vice president had been needed to confirm a cabinet secretary.
What She Did in Office.
Student loan protections rolled back: DeVos dismantled the Borrower Defense to Repayment rule, which allowed students defrauded by for-profit colleges to have their loans discharged. A federal court found her department had illegally stalled on processing hundreds of thousands of claims. Her department was held in contempt of court in 2020 for continuing to collect loan payments from defrauded borrowers while the court order to stop was in effect.
For-profit college protection: DeVos's department was accused of favoring for-profit college industry interests. Her former deputy secretary had worked as a for-profit college lobbyist. Multiple consumer protection rules targeting predatory for-profit schools were weakened or eliminated.
Title IX changes: DeVos rewrote Title IX guidance on campus sexual assault in ways that critics said made it harder for survivors to seek accountability, while supporters said it strengthened due process for the accused.
The contempt of court finding is a matter of public court record — US District Court, Northern District of California, 2020. The confirmation vote is a matter of Senate record. The grizzly bear quote is from DeVos's confirmation hearing, January 17, 2017, available in full transcript.
DeVos resigned two days after the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, citing the events of that day. She did not invoke the 25th Amendment as she had suggested others consider. She has not faced any criminal or civil liability for her department's conduct.
- Senate confirmation vote record, February 7, 2017 — 50-50, Pence tiebreaker; first in US history for a cabinet confirmation.
- DeVos confirmation hearing transcript, January 17, 2017 — grizzly bear quote and proficiency/growth exchange.
- US District Court contempt order, 2020 — Northern District of California; DeVos Education Department held in contempt for continuing loan collections.
- Washington Post, New York Times, ProPublica — contemporaneous reporting on for-profit college policy rollbacks and Borrower Defense processing delays.