‘F’ FOR ED. CHIEF

Lindsey: OK, we’ll hear out Mueller

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled Sunday to answer questions about the looming back-to-school crisis as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spiral out of control.

The nation’s top education official dodged questions about whether she supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for schools or what to do if those guidelines cannot be met.

“We want to see every school district, every state doing the same thing,” DeVos told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “[They should be] saying not what we can’t do, but what we are going to do, what we can do.”

The conservative education secretary echoed President Trump’s insistence that children must return to in-person learning regardless of the situation with the pandemic.

“Kids need to get back to school. They need to get back in the classrooms,” DeVos said. “The rule has to be that kids go back to learning full time.”

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasted no time hitting back at what she called the cabinet official’s “appalling” failure to appreciate the risks involved in sending kids back into the classroom during the pandemic.

“We all want our children to go back to school,” Pelosi said. “Teachers do. Parents do. And children do. But they must go back safely.”

DeVos even defended Trump’s controversial vow to cut off federal funding to schools that cannot or will not reopen for in-person classes.

She told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” that schools that decide to not hold live classes would be breaking a “promise” to the federal government.

“If schools aren’t going to reopen and fulfill that promise, they shouldn’t get the funds,” DeVos said. “Give it to the families to decide to go to a school that is going to meet that promise.”

Make up your mind, Lindsey!

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he will call Robert Mueller to testify, reversing his long-held stance that there was no need to hear from the special counsel in the Russia probe.

The ally of President Trump flip-flopped after Mueller wrote an op-ed defending the prosecution of Roger Stone, the convicted liar and self-proclaimed GOP dirty trickster whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump.

“Apparently Mr. Mueller is willing — and also capable — of defending the Mueller investigation,” Graham (photo) tweeted Sunday.

“Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have previously requested Mr. Mueller appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about his investigation,” he added. “That request will be granted.”

Graham did not explain why he changed his mind about hearing from Mueller.

He apparently hopes to use the controversy over Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free card for Stone to score political points for the president in his fight to win four more years in the White House.

Trump’s right-wing base is convinced that the special counsel was a “Deep State” zealot intent on bringing down the president. Mueller’s hypercautious probe resulted in a report that failed to hold Trump to account for his campaign’s acceptance of Russian help in the 2016 race.

Democrats demanded Mueller testify to the Senate last year. But Graham insisted at the time that the nation should move on.

“I’m done with the Mueller report,” Graham said last year.