Expect the next resignation from President Donald Trump’s administration to come fairly soon.
But it’s probably not going to be over Russian collusion, money laundering, or lying to the FBI.
This resignation may occur over “lack of influence.”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is rumored to be the next Trump official to quit, according to Thomas Toch, director of independent education think tank FutureEd.
Toch told Politico DeVos was ignorant of the job’s constraints when she accepted the nomination, and insiders are preparing for her to leave.
Toch said:
“She can’t fill her senior staff slots. Morale is terrible at the [education] department.”
Hotly criticized during her confirmation hearings for being unqualified for the position, DeVos attributes the problems she is having with the Trump transition team’s failure to adequately coach her.
Thomas Toch said:
“I’ll tell you, in Washington education circles, the conversation is already about the post-DeVos landscape, because the assumption is she won’t stay long. I think she’s been probably one of the most ineffective people to ever hold the job.”
According to comments coming from inside the Education Department, employees perceive DeVos as ineffective and reluctant to pursue major changes after she discovered the limited power she has.
In May, James Runcie, chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid, resigned after he clashed with DeVos when she insisted Runcie testify before a congressional oversight panel regarding the education department’s increasing improper payment rate for federal student aid programs.
Runcie wrote in a memo:
“I am incredibly concerned about significant constraints being placed on our ability to allocate and prioritize resources, make decisions and deliver on the organization’s mission.”
About his apparent need to testify before the congressional panel, Runcie added:
“[I have] not heard a single compelling reason from Department staff regarding the need to have the Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid testify on improper payments.”
In a statement, Runcie said:
“Successfully leading and managing a large, complex organization in the public sector requires alignment on governance and mission between operational leaders and political ones. Simply put, I submitted my resignation late yesterday because that alignment no longer exists.”
A string of antithetical policies have marred Secretary DeVos’ tenure.
Upon assuming her role as the nation’s education advocate, she decided to rescind support requiring the U.S. Education Department to investigate loan servicing companies’ past conduct before the government awards lucrative contracts. Interestingly, these are the very companies in which DeVos and her family have vested business interests.
Then she reversed former President Barack Obama’s directive requiring schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms that conform to their gender identities.
She also scrapped Obama-era guidelines on investigating college and university campus sexual assault.
Last month, DeVos rescinded 72 policy documents outlining disabled students’ rights codified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act (IDEA).
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