Betsy DeVos sat in front of a House committee today to answer questions about the education portion of President Donald Trump's proposed budget.
It ... didn't go super great.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.
Congressmen and women on May 24, 2017, grilled her on the controversial details of her qualifications as secretary of education and her plan for America's students — namely accusations of shifting federal funds from public to private schools and deep cuts to after-school programs, both of which would disproportionately hurt lower-income students.
Meanwhile, people on Twitter had a few questions of their own they wanted DeVos to answer.
The hashtag #QuestionsForBetsy went viral in a hurry. It got savage even faster. While DeVos fielded justifiably hostile questions on Capitol Hill, thousands of comments poured in on social media.
To put it mildly, it wasn't a friendly crowd.
Some users demanded answers on why DeVos was ever named education secretary to begin with.
She has famously been accused of "buying" her way into the job with huge donations to Republicans.
A lot of people are rightfully still upset about it.
Why are you at all qualified to be Secretary Of Education? #Questions4Betsy— Eric Wolfson (@Eric Wolfson) 1495628821
Have you ever taught in pub schools? What is the longest stretch of time you have spent in a public (non-charter) school? #Questions4Betsy— Ilana Horn (@Ilana Horn) 1495626664
Some lashed out at specific DeVos' policies that, frankly, suck.
Like her sucky idea to eliminate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program:
#Questions4Betsy why are you trying to cancel student loan forgiveness for schoolteachers? Like, seriously, what is wrong with you?— Matthew Chapman (@Matthew Chapman) 1495631718
And her sucky support of a Trump policy to get rid of protected rights for trans students:
You withdrew guidance explaining schools’ Title IX responsibilities re: trans students. How will you #ProtectTransKids? #Questions4Betsy— Dr. Jessica Sturm @ 🏡 (@Dr. Jessica Sturm @ 🏡) 1495651266
This woman reprimanded DeVos for not spending more time coming up with a plan teachers could get behind.
Teachers, if you haven't heard, aren't big fans of hers.
How many public teachers did you sit and discuss this with. You shld have dug deep, done research b4 this harmful plan. #Questions4Betsy— DAME 💎 (@DAME 💎) 1495652851
All day, questions and outrage poured in.
What’s it like to have never worried about student debt? #Questions4Betsy— Sachdo (@Sachdo) 1495626229
Have you ever slipped money to a weeping teacher buying school supplies with her own money b/c funds were gutted? #questions4betsy— Shelby Kent-Stewart ™ (@Shelby Kent-Stewart ™) 1495637817
Have you ever had to worry about your kid having a meal that day or going hungry? #Questions4Betsy— Karen B. (@Karen B.) 1495624537
This one sums things up pretty dang well:
The huge response to #QuestionsForBetsy proves one thing: People are not happy with the Trump administration's plans for our schools.
With our kids' futures and the future of our country on the line, there are still way too many questions hanging.
Those questions are important, and they deserve to be answered.
