January 18, 2017
Watch: Al Franken Destroys Betsy DeVos Over Conversion Therapy Support
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for education secretary Betsy DeVos has been grilled by Congress this week and received some harsh questioning from Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who called the wealthy Republican out for her support of conversion therapy.
DeVos, a billionaire from Michigan, denied she supported conversion therapy - a harmful method that some believe can "change" someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Mrs. DeVos, your family has a long history of supporting anti-LGBT causes including donating millions of dollars to groups that push conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity," Franken said at the hearing Tuesday, according to Raw Story. "For example, you and your family have given over $10 million to Focus On the Family, an organization that currently states on its website that, 'homosexual strugglers can and do change their sexual behavior and identity.'"
He went on to say:
"Mrs. DeVos, conversion therapy has been widely discredited and rejected for decades by every mainstream medical and mental health organization as neither medically nor ethically appropriate. It has been shown to lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide, particularly in LGBT youth. In fact, many of the leaders and founders of conversion therapy, including both religious ministries and mental health professionals, have not only publicly renounced it but have issued formal apologies for their work and how harmful it has been to the individuals involved. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that this be included in the record.
"Mrs. DeVos, do you still believe in conversion therapy?"
DeVos responded by saying she's "never believed in that."
"First of all, let me say I fully embrace equality and I believe in the innate value of every single human being and that all students, no matter their age, should be able to attend a school and feel safe and be free of discrimination," she said. "So let's start there and let me just say that your characterization of our contributions I don't think accurately reflects those of my family.
"I would hope that you wouldn't include other family members beyond my core family," DeVos added.
Franken said: "Well, in terms of throwing numbers around, you said that student debt has increased by 1,000 percent."
"980 percent in 8 years," DeVos responded.
"That's just not so. It's increased 118 percent in the past eight years. So, I'm just asking if you're challenging my figures, I would ask that you get your figures straight about education policy and that's why we want more questions," Franken said. "Because we want to know if this person that we are entrusting to be the secretary of education, if she has the breadth and depth of knowledge that we would expect from someone who has that important job."
As the Associated Press reported, some LGBT groups protested Trump's choice of DeVos, also citing that she's funded conservative religious groups that promote what they consider to be traditional family values, including one organization that supports conversion therapy.
Watch the exchange between DeVos and Franken below.
