Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) vowed she will have the person she picks to be the Secretary of Education to be interviewed by a trans student and will only proceed with the nomination if they approve of her choice.
Warren said she came up with the idea when she was asked about the issue by 9-year-old trans student Jacob Lemay during CNN's "Equality Town Hall" in October.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asked a question by Jacob, a 9-year-old transgender student from Massachusetts, at the #EqualityTownHall. pic.twitter.com/mFDygpirGW
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 11, 2019
"It came from a young trans person who asked about welcoming community, and I said, 'It starts with a Secretary of Education who has a lot to do with where we spend our money, with what gets advanced in our public schools, with what the standards are.' And I said, 'I’m going to have a Secretary of Education that this young trans person interviews, on my behalf, and only if this person believes that our Secretary of Education nominee is truly as committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone, will that person be actually advanced to be Secretary of Education,'" Warren explained.
Warren said the other criteria for her Education Secretary nominee would be that they would have to have been educated in the public school system, a clear jab at current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Betsy DeVos is the worst Secretary of Education we’ve seen. Instead of championing our students, she protects for-profit colleges that break the law. So I’m making a pledge: In a Warren administration, the Secretary of Education will be a former public school teacher. pic.twitter.com/fz4uiMQa7N
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 14, 2019