Klobuchar: I'll fire Betsy DeVos in my first 100 days

It’s official. The Secretary of the Department of Education has been put on notice. Betsy DeVos should be keeping an eye on her resume and her future job opportunities. Because if Amy Klobuchar is not only nominated by the Democrats but takes the White House this November, she’s going to fire DeVos and will give her at most three months to find new employment. If nothing else, DeVos is getting a lot more notice of her termination than most Americans, despite the fact that she would likely already be long gone by the time Klobuchar was sworn in if Trump somehow loses the election. (Free Beacon)

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) in a new ad released Wednesday pledged to fire Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos within her first 100 days as president—a likely unnecessary move given that DeVos would depart with sitting president Donald Trump.

Klobuchar lists various progressive policy wishes in the 30-second spot now airing in Iowa, sandwiching a promise to dismiss DeVos between expanding Veterans Affairs benefits and addressing mental health and addiction.

Klobuchar’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment as to why firing DeVos would be necessary, or as to whether Klobuchar would consider keeping any Trump cabinet members, as when President Barack Obama kept on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates from the Bush administration.

Given the vast rift between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to education policy, does Klobuchar really believe that DeVos wouldn’t turn in her resignation as soon as Donald Trump leaves office? (Assuming the Democrats somehow unseat Trump this year.) Is there some scenario where Klobuchar would have wanted to keep her on board or where DeVos would have wanted to stay on and work for the new boss?

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As the Free Beacon points out, this is rather similar to Eric Swalwell (who you probably don’t remember was running for POTUS) promising to fire Jared Kushner upon taking office. Did anyone really think that the President’s son-in-law was going to want to stick around and be an advisor to a Democrat after Trump left office?

There’s precedent for some Cabinet members hanging around from one administration to the next, but they are becoming more and more rare. Trump kept on David Shulkin at the VA after he served as an undersecretary for Obama. And Obama kept Robert Gates on at Defense after Bush left office. But DeVos underwent one of the more brutal confirmation hearings of this administration and was barely confirmed after two Republican defections, requiring a tie-breaking vote by the Vice President.

The days of bipartisan virtue-signaling are likely over at this point. Anyone who dared to accept a nomination from Donald Trump is unlikely to be offered another stint in office by the next Democratic POTUS if Trump loses. DeVos and the rest of the crew will be looking for new employment if Biden, Warren or Sanders is somehow elected. And I’m sure they already know this and are making preparations in advance.

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Similarly, after all of the hot takes and divisiveness surrounding the 2020 campaign, Trump won’t be looking to invite any Democrats to his cabinet next year. Whether that’s for better or worse I leave to the discretion of the reader. But Amy Klobuchar seems to be seriously drifting off message with this announcement.

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