Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is revealing for the first time the extent of her dislike for former President Donald Trump’s inability to “do what he could have done” to counter the events of Jan. 6, she said in a new interview.
DeVos resigned from her post on Jan. 7, 2020, calling the previous day’s riot and Trump’s rhetoric a “watershed moment.”
Now, in a new interview promoting a book, she says she discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office — and she’s accused Trump of failing to “define the situation.” to tackle”.
She even raised the 25th Amendment issue directly with Vice President Mike Pence, who would have become interim president if the amendment procedures had actually been carried out.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos raised the 25th amendment issue directly with Vice President Mike Pence after Jan. 6, she said
“As I watched what happened that day, I thought about children across the country and what they were seeing, and I just felt like there were things the President could have done to stop the activity, reverse it, avoid it all of the things that followed,” she said.
“And it was just a bridge too far when he also turned his back on his vice president. And so my job in Washington was done. I couldn’t do anything more important for children. And that was the turning point for me.”
“And then when I saw what happened on January 6th and didn’t see the President step in and do what he could have done to roll it back or slow it down or really address the situation, I just knew I couldn’t.” keep going,” she said in an interview with USA Today.
Under the 25th Amendment, senior executives can vote that a president is unable to perform his or her duties and have the vice president step in temporarily
DeVos spoke hours before prime time on January 6th
She left right after Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao, who is married to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“I thought about the children I represented there and what they see and what they take away from it – it was in no way defensible.”
“The termination came at a time when I knew my job was done,” she said, while a copy of her forthcoming book was propped up in the background.
She said “more than a few people” in the White House have thought about the 25th Amendment. Trump would claim voter fraud for weeks, not participate in a transition for weeks, and skip Joe Biden’s inauguration.
She said she spoke to Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump accused of not showing “courage” by refusing to count states-certified votes.
“I spoke to the vice president and just let him know that I’m there to do whatever he wanted and needed to do or help and he made it very clear that he wasn’t headed in that direction or.” would go that route.” She said.
“I’ve had conversations with some of my colleagues,” she said. “And then, which is important, I also spoke to the vice president.”
“He made it clear to me that this wasn’t a direction he was going to move in. When that was clear…that wasn’t going to happen, that wasn’t going to happen. Those were really the talks. I was really keen to find out what we needed to know and how we were going to proceed or not proceed with anything,” she said.
It was reported at the time that a mass exit of skeptics into Trump’s cabinet would eliminate the possibility of trying to use the 25th Amendment, which allows the cabinet to vote that the president is “unable to perform the duties.” to fulfill his office”. Establishment of a vote in Congress.
“I spoke to colleagues. I wanted to better understand the law myself and see if it applies in this case. There were more than a few people having these conversations internally,” she said.
She also wrote about the episode in a book called Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child.
In it, she complains that Trump’s campaign efforts got in the way of implementing a school election agenda.
“It wasn’t about the election results. It was about the values and image of the United States. It was about public service growing beyond itself. The President had lost sight of that,” she wrote.
“A lot of what happened after the election blocked any major additional work, so I really felt that whatever I was able to accomplish in office was accomplished based on that reality and that momentum.”
Her resignation letter indicated a break with Trump, although she praised his “many accomplishments.”
“We should highlight and celebrate the many accomplishments of your administration on behalf of the American people,” she wrote. “Instead, we must clean up the chaos caused by violent protesters who overran the US Capitol to undermine people’s businesses. This behavior was irresponsible for our country. The impact your rhetoric had on the situation is unmistakable and that, for me, is the turning point.”