Senators urge education secretary pick Betsy DeVos to pay millions in overdue election fines


Several senators have sent a letter to Donald Trump's education secretary pick, Betsy DeVos, calling on her to pay more than $5 million in election fines owed by a school-choice advocacy group she once ran.
All Children Matter lobbies for school-choice legislation, and owes the state of Ohio more than $5.3 million for violations from nearly a decade ago, Politico reports. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent DeVos a letter Wednesday addressing the "significant concerns" they had over the fines and urging her to take care of them. "If confirmed as secretary of education, you would be responsible for administering our nation's student loan programs and ensuring that borrowers repay their loans in a timely manner," the letter stated. "However, the PAC that you chaired failed to pay fines that were imposed on it over eight years ago. This demonstrates a serious lack of judgment by the PAC's board and a willingness to avoid paying legally obligated public debts."
The Ohio Elections Commission said that in 2008, the national PAC, based in Virginia where there are no limits on political contributions, funneled $870,000 in contributions to the now-shuttered Ohio affiliate. Ohio has a $10,000 cap on individual gifts, and this move broke election law. Ed Patry, a spokesman for DeVos, told Politico the legal battle over paying the fines is a "politically driven effort to derail education reform in Ohio," and called the letter "a transparently political maneuver." A Trump transition representative said the fines are no longer legally binding because of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, though the transfer by DeVos' group took place two years before that. A judge upheld the fine in 2013 and found All Children Matter financially liable, Politico says, though the national PAC reported only $275 on hand at the end of 2015.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How successful would Elon Musk's third party be?
Today's Big Question Musk has vowed to start a third party after falling out with Trump
-
Music reviews: Bruce Springsteen and Benson Boone
Feature "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" and "American Heart"
-
Why passkeys are the next frontier in digital security
A disruptive new technology promises to put passwords to bed forever — but not yet
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible