Months After Admitting Teachers ‘Don’t Really Care’ About Education Dept., Union Boss Says She’s ‘Really Upset’ It Might Be Eliminated

For many on the left, it seems the only prerequisite for opposing an idea is if President Donald Trump supports it.

That appeared to be the case this week when American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten weighed in on the White House’s plan to potentially eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

As Fox News reported, her latest remarks seemed to stand in contrast to the opinion she shared about the agency just a few short months ago:

She also tied it to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), another target of the Trump administration.

ADVERTISEMENT

The true meaning of DEI is “opportunity,” Weingarten said, growing increasingly agitated. “It’s so we can create that ladder of opportunity. It’s so we can make sure that kids can succeed. Poor kids, kids with disabilities, kids who want to go to career, tech ed, kids who are first generation college goers to get some scholarship money. That’s what the Department of Education does.”

“That is why so many people are so mad about it,” she insisted, getting heated. “Because they’re just taking opportunity away from kids that don’t have it. So billionaires – kids of billionaires, they have it, they go to private schools. Everyone else, 90% go to public schools. Don’t take away their opportunity.”

“Sorry, I’m really angry about this … I’m really angry,” Weingarten said.

However, shortly after Trump won in November, Weingarten seemed to have a different opinion when asked about the president-elect’s pledge to eliminate the Education Department.

“I mean, my members don’t really care about whether they have a bureaucracy of the Department of Education or not,” Weingarten said during an appearance on MSNBC. “In fact, Al Shanker and the [American Federation of Teachers] in the 1970s were opposed to its creation.”

Although union members and other anti-Trump figures on the left are up in arms about Trump administration’s effort to rein in the federal bureaucracy, plenty of limited-government conservatives and concerned parents are excited about the idea:

NewsNation provided an update last week on the Trump administration’s latest stance on the issue:

President Donald Trump will not sign an executive order Thursday asking new Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dissolving the department, a White House official confirmed to NewsNation.

Instead, the White House has reversed course and will continue to review the department, a White House official said. An official previously told NewsNation the signing would take place Thursday afternoon.

ADVERTISEMENT

A draft of the executive order was obtained by the Wall Street Journal early Thursday morning. The draft reportedly directed McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure.”

According to the Journal’s reporting, McMahon would be instructed to do whatever it takes to shutter the agency based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”