Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued a warning about Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz after American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union president Randi Weingarten celebrated him joining the Democratic ticket.
"Anyone who makes Randi this excited is a 5-alarm fire for parents and students," DeVos wrote Tuesday on X.
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The U.S. secretary of education under Trump made the comment in response to a video posted on the ATF X account of Weingarten expressing her elation that Harris selected a "teacher and a union member" as her pick for vice president.
"We're so excited…we have known him for years as a social studies teacher, as a vet, as a union member, as a congressman, as a governor, he cares about working people. We've seen it," a visibly eager Weingarten says in the clip. "He knows how to get things done. It is such a great day for America that we're going to have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on the ticket for the future, for freedom, for opportunity, for America, for American families.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited," she added.
Weingarten, who leads one of the nation's largest teacher unions, heaped additional praise on Walz for his efforts to increase funding for public schools in a subsequent post.
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"Congrats @Tim_Walz! As Governor his record has been exemplary including record funding for public education, protecting reproductive rights, expanding collective bargaining, access to affordable childcare & paid family and medical leave. @KamalaHarris made a great choice!" she wrote on X.
National Education Association president Becky Pringle also praised the former geography teacher as an "exceptional choice."
"VP @KamalaHarris has delivered once again for students and educators with this exceptional choice of the ‘Education Governor’ @GovTimWalz as her running mate. Educators are fired up and united," she posted. "We know that electing the Harris-Walz ticket is the only way to take America forward."
Walz, 60, a former congressman, is currently completing his second term as governor of Minnesota. He is a former U.S. Army National Guard member and a former teacher who has raised his profile in recent weeks as an effective advocate for Harris. He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, and was also a football coach and union member at a high school in Minnesota before getting into politics.
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"I am proud to announce that I've asked @TimWalz to be my running mate," Harris officially announced Tuesday on X. "As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his."
Progressives have praised Walz's strong support for unions and record of accomplishments as governor, which include codifying abortion rights into the state constitution, enacting universal free school breakfasts and lunches for students, regardless of income, and making Minnesota a refuge for children seeking transgender medical procedures.
In 2023, he signed a budget to expand funding for Minnesota schools and supported a free college tuition program for Minnesota families earning less than $80,000 a year, according to the outlet.
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Walz has faced criticism for his handling of COVID-19, which included indoor masking, as well as the initiation of a hotline to report residents who violated mask mandates, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported at the time.
Weingarten has also faced intense backlash for supporting heavy-handed pandemic restrictions and her role in the school lockdowns that had dramatically harmful implications on public-school children in the U.S. She has been accused of trying to deflect accountability after passing the blame of mismanaging school closures to DeVos, Republican lawmakers and others. DeVos accused her of trying to "gaslight" Americans at the time.
The AFT president, who has a history of far-left political rhetoric, used her union’s convention last week to discuss the stakes of the upcoming election, warning that former President Trump could bring fascism and violence to America if elected.
"The November elections will determine which path we take as a nation. Progress is possible, but so is the eradication of the rights and freedoms we hold dear," Weingarten said. "It is seldom a dramatic event or attack that lets fascism in the door. The violence comes later, after they are voted in."
