Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves supports President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.

In a Jan. 10 letter addressed to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Reeves endorsed DeVos, a conservative nominee with a strong background in school voucher and charter school advocacy.

“As Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, I know the importance of ensuring that every student has access to a truly revolutionary education, regardless of the zip code in which they live or the income level of their parents,” the letter reads. “Mrs. DeVos’s ardent dedication to this principle, along with her passion for innovative and transformational educational opportunities, will be a fundamental change that our students so desperately need.”

Trump announced DeVos, a Michigan philanthropist and supporter of school choice, as his nominee for secretary of education in November.

DeVos has never worked in a public school and supports school vouchers, which give students the option to attend private schools using public school funding. She is scheduled to go before the committee for a nomination hearing Tuesday.

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Kayleigh Skinner served the Mississippi Today team from January 2017 as an education and legislative reporter and advanced to senior level roles in 2020 to October 2023. Before joining Mississippi Today, Kayleigh worked at The Hechinger Report, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and The Commercial Appeal. She has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC Newsday Radio to discuss her reporting.