betsy devos sitting at table and smiling to the side

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos resigned Thursday following a violent mob storming the Capitol complex in an effort to stop the certification of the election results. Credit: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via TNS

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos resigned Thursday — in response to a violent mob storming the Capitol complex during the certification of election results, according to multiple reports. She will leave office Friday.

In her resignation letter to President Donald Trump, DeVos cited Trump’s repeated unfounded claims of election fraud as responsible for inciting the mob. Trump held a rally outside the White House Thursday, during which he continued to deny the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s win and urged supporters to march to the Capitol to “stop the vote.”

“That behavior was unconscionable for our country,” DeVos said. “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”

DeVos is the second member of the Trump Administration to resign following the attack on the Capitol. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao tweeted a statement earlier Thursday that she would step down effective Jan. 11.

DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education in 2017 by a 51-50 vote in the Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence delivering the tie-breaking vote. Democrats in the Senate and other opponents of DeVos’ confirmation raised concerns that she had little experience in public education and openly supported charter schools.

In her time as secretary, DeVos rolled back Obama-era regulations on public education. In February 2017, she helped rescind a previous guidance that, in addition to providing definitions for terms such as gender identity and gender expression, urged schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, according to a letter from the Departments of Justice and Education. 

In May, DeVos finalized Title IX regulations that changed the definition of sexual harassment, emphasized more protections for the accused, allowed for schools to choose a more stringent standard of evidence to follow and limited schools’ responsibility for investigating off-campus incidents.

DeVos also awarded multiple grants for the creation of public charter schools throughout the U.S., including a $131 million grant in October, according to a Department of Education press release.

Biden announced Dec. 23 Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s commissioner of education, would serve as Secretary of Education, pending Senate confirmation.