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McGrath: relief money's not meant for 'DeVos's billionaire friends'

Berry Craig
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By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

Besides their far-right-wing politics, which includes slashing funds for public schools and fierce opposition to teacher unions, what do Sen. Mitch McConnell and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have in common?

Both of them are under fire from Amy McGrath, the ex-Marine jet pilot who who wants McConnell's job.  

Via Twitter: 'Betsy DeVos is trying to force PUBLIC school districts to spend coronavirus relief funds on wealthy private schools, while leaving out some high-needs public schools all together. The point of the relief fund was to help schools in need, not Betsy DeVos's billionaire friends.' - Amy McGrath | NPR: In a newly announced rule, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has signaled she is standing firm on her intention to reroute millions of dollars in coronavirus aid money to K-12 private school students.

"Mitch McConnell helped push through Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as Trump’s Secretary of Education -- and ever since, she’s used her position to help the wealthy and connected while GUTTING our public school system!," says a new fund-raising email from "Fire Mitch, Save America," which bills itself as the only super PAC dedicated exclusively to helping Amy unseat Mitch in 2020."

By winning last month's Democratic senatorial primary, McGrath earned the right to take on the Republican McConnell, who has spent 35 years in Washington opposing organized labor and its aims. 

The email says that "As a mother of three, Amy McGrath is ready to fight on behalf of students and their families in Washington."

The email warns that McConnell "has nearly unlimited dark money on his side to help him hold on to power" and asks, "will you chip in to make sure we have the resources to beat him at the ballot box?

McGrath is a Naval Academy graduate and former Marine lieutenant colonel. A pioneer military aviator, she was the first woman to fly a combat mission in a Marine warplane and the first woman to pilot a Marine F/A-18 "Hornet" in combat.