DeVos is known for her conservative political activism, [ 1 ] and particularly her support for school choice , school voucher programs, and charter schools. She has advocated for the Detroit charter school system [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and she is a former member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. On November 23, , then- President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education in his administration.
This was the first time in U. On January 7, , DeVos tendered her resignation as education secretary as a result of the January 6 United States Capitol attack , saying to President Trump in her resignation letter, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation.
DeVos was born Elisabeth Prince on January 8, She grew up in Holland, Michigan , the eldest of four children born to Elsa Zwiep Prince later, Broekhuizen and Edgar Prince , a billionaire industrialist.
She served as a local precinct delegate for the Michigan Republican Party, having been elected for 16 consecutive two-year terms since Bill Ballenger , editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics and a former Republican state senator, called DeVos "a good behind-the-scenes organizer and a good fund raiser" as well as "a true believer in core Republican issues that leave nobody in doubt on where she stands".
She said in that same year, "It is clear I have never been a rubber stamp. I have been a fighter for the grassroots, and following is admittedly not my strong suit. Like other members of the DeVos family, Betsy strongly opposed government limits on political donations and spending. While popular with the American public [ 44 ] as a way to prevent perceived unfair domination by the wealthy in politics, DeVos and many other conservatives argue it is an infringement on free speech.
