Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) on Monday quipped “We should send her back” during a speech in which she attacked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“Too many of our children languish in inadequate, ill-equipped schools. Thank you Betsy DeVos,” Stabenow told the NAACP convention in Detroit.
“I really wish she was not from Michigan. I think we should send her back,” the lawmaker added.
DeVos, a native of Holland, Michigan, is married to Richard DeVos, a member of the powerful DeVos family with deep roots in the Great Lakes State.
Stabenow’s comment was a shot at chants of “send her back” about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) heard at President Donald Trump’s Wednesday evening rally in Greenville, North Carolina. The chant broke out as the president went through a laundry list of controversial statements by Omar, including her minimization of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. Last Sunday, President Trump took aim at Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), challenging them to leave the if they continue to bash the United States.
On Monday, the president doubled down on his remarks, writing on Twitter: “The “Squad” is a very Racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart. They are pulling the once great Democrat Party far left, and were against humanitarian aid at the Border…And are now against ICE and Homeland Security. So bad for our Country!”