Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss and President Donald Trump at St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, FL
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is even more unpopular than her boss President Donald Trump according to a new poll released by St. Leo University last week.
A survey of 1,073 adults taken between March 3 and March 11, 2017 (+/- 3.0 percent MOE) showed that 51.2 percent approved of President Donald Trump while 44.1% disapproved (-7.1 disapproval rating).
They showed DeVos getting the worst ratings of all of the appointments polled with only 34.5 percent approving of her appointment with 52.3 percent showing disapproval (-17.8 disapproval rating). This was even worse than President Trump’s controversial pick of Steve Bannon as chief strategist who had 36 percent of respondents approve and 46.2 percent disapprove of his appointment (as a White House position Bannon’s appointment did not require a Senate confirmation). (-10.2 disapproval rating).
DeVos’ unpopularity is likely due to Democrats opposed to her background as a school choice advocate with little to no experience in public education. Many conservatives also were concerned about her support of pro-Common Core organizations and general lack of opposition, her acceptance of the federal government approving state accountability plans, and lacking commitment to shrink the Feds role in education.
DeVos’ confirmation required a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence.