Betsy DeVos, former secretary of education during Donald Trump's first term as president, praised his efforts to end the Department of Education, the Daily Mail reported.
"We're going to end education coming out of Washington, D.C.," Trump said in a message to supporters. "We're going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place — and you have people in many cases who hate our children. We're going to send it all back to the states."
DeVos, who resigned her Cabinet position following the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol, voiced support for Trump and is optimistic he will make education reform a priority.
"There are many ways to de-power the Department of Education, and I am very optimistic that President Trump in his second term is going to put the muscle behind seeing that happen," DeVos told the Daily Mail.
DeVos proposed that Trump first pass federal tax credits to help parents pay for school choice, fueling education freedom across the country. She further suggested the federal government begin offering block funding grants to the states.
DeVos, who faced fierce opposition from teachers unions during her time as secretary of education, said the unions will try to fight Trump every step of the way.
"The status quo is not going to back down at all, and they're not going to get quieter," DeVos told Daily Mail. "Whomever is there is going to, if they are standing up to the status quo, they're going to get all the protests and all the stuff the same way because they are fighting for power and control."
Parents are starting to realize teacher unions do not prioritize their children, DeVos told the Daily Mail.
"The status quo and the unions have overplayed their hands through the whole COVID experience, it has opened families' eyes, grandparents, communities — it has opened everyone's eyes to how much control and influence and power these teachers unions have had, and I think there is backlash against that today," DeVos said.
DeVos did not rule out returning to the Department of Education, Daily Mail reported, but said she would only return if Trump was serious about shuttering the department.