FIRST ON FOX – The American Accountability Basis, a conservative authorities analysis nonprofit, assembled a “watch-list” of high bureaucrats on the Department of Education who it recommends President-elect Donald Trump ought to fireplace.
The nonprofit, which is funded by the conservative assume tank The Heritage Basis, published the list on its web site. The AAF assembled 19 “dossiers” naming “America’s Most Subversive Training Bureaucrats.”
AAF President Tom Jones, a former Republican congressional staffer, advised Fox Information Digital that the “public-facing” checklist was not compiled on the behest of the Trump transition workforce, however relatively as a result of the conservative group believes it is necessary that the American folks “perceive that there is a variety of civil servants throughout the federal authorities, and notably throughout the Division of Training, who will not be neutral technicians executing on the agenda of the president, however relatively are ideologues who’ve an agenda that they are prepared to implement regardless of the clear course from the voters in November.”
“On the finish of the day, it is essentially undemocratic. What you get is a gaggle of people that do not mirror the desire of the American folks implementing their agenda over that of what the American folks stated was their will in November. On the finish of the day, what it means is you get a left-wing method to training, notably larger training,” Jones advised Fox Information Digital. “The larger training system in America is damaged. I believe the occasions of final summer season, the place you noticed left-wing pro-terrorist teams take over American campuses, and the college and administration assist them, actually ought to have been a wake-up name for all Individuals. And I believe this might be a wake-up name for this administration.”
Jones stated these on the checklist embrace people who’re “serial donors” to Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and President Biden, in addition to different “laborious core ideologues” who will prioritize their very own progressive agendas, resembling selling Biden’s scholar mortgage “bailouts,” rising rules on profitable on-line class partnerships, and conducting a “witch hunt” towards Christian and profession faculties by the Scholar Monetary Assist Workplace of Enforcement.
NEW GOP BILL SEEKS TO HOLD PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES TO SAME TAX STANDARD AS CORPORATIONS: ‘ON NOTICE’
President Biden in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)
Jones recognized one particular person on the Workplace of Enforcement who “had spent his profession on the Maryland Legal professional Common’s Workplace investigating profession faculties and Christian faculties.” He pointed to a different one who said that he would work to show the DOE right into a “mini-CFPB,” a reference to the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau, which Jones described as “primarily only a witch hunt manufacturing facility that is used to analyze organizations of people who the administration would not like.” The nonprofit described one basic lawyer for the DOE included on the checklist as “a number one authorized advocate for transgender rights within the debate over non secular exemptions for sure universities.”
“These persons are not going to say, what, ‘I hated Trump final week, however on January twenty second, I will be tremendous enthusiastic about implementing his training agenda.’ Until these of us are moved out of their positions throughout the Division of Training, they’ll proceed to work behind the scenes to assault options to conventional four-year establishments,” Jones stated.
Others named on the checklist embrace a civilian worker throughout the DOE Workplace of Federal Scholar Assist (FSA) who the nonprofit says spearheaded a “$6.1 billion scholar mortgage forgiveness scheme to artwork institute college students.”
“They name it reduction, nevertheless it’s actually an enormous giveaway to individuals who pursue school levels which can be simply unaffordable,” Jones advised Fox Information Digital. “And look, that is fully unacceptable to primarily have the federal authorities repaying the coed loans for somebody and placing that burden on the again of a plumber or a welder, , a instructor who’s caring for their training or who did not go on to school, they’ve now received to pay for some man who’s received a feminist research diploma from Columbia and $150,000 in debt. That is simply merely, essentially unfair and unsuitable. However look, if you wish to go get that diploma, try to be ready to pay for it.”
College students put together for a lecture on the College of Texas at Austin on Feb. 22, 2024, in Austin, Texas. President Biden has introduced one other $1.2 billion in scholar mortgage forgiveness, including to a complete of $138 billion forgiven. (Brandon Bell/Getty Photos)
The checklist contains one other DOE worker who the nonprofit says helped the Biden administration “weaponize federal scholar assist insurance policies towards faith-based higher education.”
TRUMP TAPS FORMER WWE CEO LINDA MCMAHON TO SERVE AS EDUCATION SECRETARY
The nonprofit accuses the particular person of enjoying a key position within the DOE levying a $37.7 million effective towards Grand Canyon College, the nation’s largest Christian school, for alleged misrepresentation of the price of its doctoral diploma packages, accusing the Biden administration of successfully having “bullied” the faculty into wiping out scholar debt for them.
Everybody named on the checklist is making six figures, Jones stated, including that some are even incomes an annual wage of greater than $200,000, whereas the common American instructor’s wage sits at round $50,000 to $60,000.
“These woke bureaucrats on the Division of Training are knocking down $200,000 to assault options to training,” Jones stated. “The Workplace of Enforcement is attacking issues like profession faculties and Christian faculties, they usually’re getting wealthy doing it. And that is simply shameful. So I am hopeful that the administration says, look, that is, , paying folks $200,000 a 12 months to assault alternatives for, , welders, nurses and folk like that to get the next training. It is simply unacceptable.”
Linda McMahon, former administrator of the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration and training secretary nominee, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)
“On the finish of the day, American folks want to know that the folks we’re speaking about right here will not be technicians,” Jones stated. “This is not plumbing that they are doing. That is coverage work. That is essentially ideological work. And on the finish of the day, these persons are similar to the political appointees that may be fired at the start of the administration.”
“I am hopeful that the administration actually takes the chance to deal with them like political appointees and ask them to maneuver on, as a result of if they do not, they’ll get left-wing political ideology within the administration for the subsequent 4 years,” he added. “And sadly, we noticed a few of that occur within the first administration. I am cautiously optimistic that the administration realized their lesson the laborious manner, the primary time that they cannot let a bunch of unelected bureaucrats run roughshod over their agenda throughout this administration.”
Jones stated he supported President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to turn out to be Training Secretary, Linda McMahon, who nonetheless faces a Senate affirmation course of.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I am excited that she’s going to have the flexibility and the latitude to do the laborious work that it takes to actually shake up the Division of Training, as a result of it is, , it is a Carter administration company that is caught within the Seventies, when the world has moved on to completely different approaches to training, whether or not it is in, , high schools or whether or not it is in post-secondary training,” Jones stated.
Fox Information Digital reached out to the Division of Training press workplace, in addition to the person staffers listed, in search of remark.
The AAF assembled the same “watch-list” of Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) workers who it advisable the Trump administration filter. In response on the time, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas condemned “within the strongest phrases any effort to harass or intimidate our public servants.”
“What Alejandro Mayorkas did was use the power of the Division of Homeland Safety to sit back speech by teams just like the American Accountability Basis,” Jones advised Fox Information Digital. “There have been no examples of anybody feeling threatened, however what there have been examples of was him ordering departments throughout the Division of Homeland Safety to open investigations of AAF. That is, , that is the type of weaponization of the U.S. authorities that we noticed for 4 years beneath the Biden administration… So the concept that some of us are feeling focused is simply nonsense and a whole crimson herring and actually a device for Mayorkas and Biden administration officers to close down speech that they do not simply do not agree with.”
Source link