Devos shows staying power in Cabinet

Secretary shies away from media; will talk Monday

When President Donald Trump visits a school, it’s usually for a campaign rally, not a classroom tour. At his latest State of the Union address, he mentioned education once. On Twitter, he has used “education” six times while in office, compared with 500 uses of the word “border.”

Instead, Trump entrusts that realm to Education Secretary Betsy Devos, who after two years has emerged as one of the most polarizing figures in his Cabinet yet also one of its most enduring members. While chiefs of a dozen other agencies have quit or been fired, Devos has survived and shows no intention of leaving.

“Just because she’s been a lightning rod and been engaged in controversy doesn’t mean she’s not doing her job,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “She’s come and she has stayed, which is more than you can say about some others in the Cabinet.”

Among Devos’ supporters, there’s a belief that Trump’s distance from education is a blessing. While the White House focuses on issues such as immigration and the economy, Devos has been free to continue her push for school choice, the topic that drew her into education and fueled her more than 30 years of advocacy.

In return, Trump gets an education leader who appeals both to school choice supporters and to evangelical Christians. Devos, 61, who was raised in the Christian Reformed Church, is known for her devout faith.

Despite her distance from Trump, she has a longtime friendship with Vice President Mike Pence, and has built other alliances across the administration, her aides say, including with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Devos has shied away from media attention, and her staff said she was unavailable to be interviewed for this story. She is scheduled to speak Monday to education journalists in her first appearance at a conference that has been a regular stopping point for her predecessors.

Gerald Herbert The Associated Press file Education Secretary Betsy Devos laughs as children try to guess her age as she visits a classroom Oct. 5 at the Edward Hynes Charter School in New Orleans.