Trump picks charter school advocate DeVos as education secretary

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen prominent charter school advocate Betsy DeVos as his secretary of education.

The DeVos choice faced criticism even before it was formally announced on Wednesday afternoon. Conservatives warned that DeVos, a longtime Republican donor, previously supported the Common Core education standards that Trump railed against during the campaign.

Trump called DeVos “a brilliant and passionate education advocate” in a Wednesday statement.

“Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families,” the incoming president said.