In response to Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos’s event in South Carolina today, Democratic National Committee spokesperson John Weber released the following statement:

“In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, South Carolina families need leaders who will put their health and safety first. But instead of doing their jobs, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Betsy DeVos are putting politics before the needs of students and teachers. They’re ignoring CDC guidance, recklessly demanding that schools rush to reopen without proper safeguards, and even threatening to withhold federal education funding. We deserve better, and this November, working families will make their voices heard and bring this chaos to an end.”

BACKGROUND ON TRUMP AND DEVOS’S BROKEN PROMISES

Promise: “We’ll fight for our great schools and we want to make them incredible. We want to make our schools really good.” [Trump Campaign Rally, 12/9/2016]

Reality: Betsy DeVos refused to say whether she could ensure that students, teachers, staff and parents would be safe from coronavirus when schools reopen.

Reality: Trump is pushing to weaken guidance for the safe reopening of schools and threatening to take away funding that schools say they will need to safely reopen.

Reality: After Congress passed emergency education funding to help public schools adjust to the pandemic, Betsy DeVos failed to quickly distribute the relief to schools that needed it. Instead, she withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from public school districts and funneled the relief to private companies. Now, Senate Republicans are refusing to take up legislation for additional relief funding for school districts.

Reality: Despite rising death tolls and record unemployment, DeVos has described the coronavirus pandemic as an “opportunity” to promote her disastrous agenda.

Reality: The Trump administration has failed to equip public schools to deal with the pandemic. Asked about the need for high-speed internet access, DeVos said distance learning can happen “in the woods behind your house.”