Other than President Trump himself, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is probably the most hated and most frequently maligned member of the Trump administration. Yet, after both meeting the secretary and covering her tenure as education secretary since 2017, it’s hard for me to see what rational basis critics have for their hatred.

Many Democrats, progressives, and liberal journalists are obsessed with DeVos, and their criticisms are often so hyperbolic that they seem sinister rather than sincere.