Betsy DeVos, the controversial newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Education, was just confirmed this week. But with nearly $200 million in donations from her family to the GOP, it seems apparent why.
DeVos, a billionaire Michigan fundraiser who has no educational experience, was recently asked by Senator Bernie Sanders if she knew how much her family––which owns the Amway company––has contributed to the Republican Party.
Her response was that she didn’t know, but it was “possible” the figure was around $200 million as Senator Sanders suggested.
Public records reveal that DeVos personally donated nearly $2.5 million dollars to the Republican Party. Several reports also show that the DeVos family has contributed $950,000 more over the years. This information, which is open to the general public, has recently been shared on social media.
Among the reigning senators who received donations from the DeVos family, only one voted against the nominee: Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The other person to vote against DeVos was Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
The newly confirmed cabinet member’s appointment was protested due to the fact she has never attended, worked for, or sent her children to a public school.
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David E. Kirkland, a New York University professor who has studied her impact in Michigan, said, “Her extensive conflicts of interest and record of diverting money away from vulnerable students and into the pockets of the rich make DeVos completely unfit for the position she was just confirmed to.”
As a GQ writer said, it looks like Republican senators “couldn’t afford to say no.”