Congressional Democrats said Tuesday they have uncovered evidence that the Trump administration tried to influence an internal watchdog’s investigation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Five top House and Senate Democrats said that the Trump administration sought to remove the Education Department’s acting inspector general last month after she pushed back on a request to “reconsider” her investigation into DeVos’ move to reinstate a controversial accreditor of for-profit colleges.
The Democrats, who sit on committees with oversight of the department, said that a January letter from a top DeVos deputy to Sandra Bruce, the acting inspector general, about the inquiry amounted to a “clear attempt to violate the statutory independence” of the agency’s inspector general.
POLITICO reported that President Donald Trump in late January abruptly appointed Phil Rosenfelt, the department’s deputy general counsel, to replace Bruce as the department’s acting IG. The White House backtracked on the decision several days later amid backlash from Democrats.