On January 7, 2021, the day after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon claimed on “Real America’s Voice” that January 6th was not an insurrection, but that “people on both sides” were to blame.

 

When Ryan Kelley, another Republican candidate for Governor in Michigan this year, was arrested for his involvement in the January 6th attack, Dixon was one of the first people to defend him. 

 

Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education during Donald Trump’s presidency and politician from Michigan, has been a major supporter and donor to Dixon’s campaign.

 

However, while Dixon has publicly defended the January 6th attack, DeVos has condemned the attack and President Trump’s role in it. She resigned from Trump’s Cabinet in protest on January 7, 2021.

 

DeVos was one of Trump’s strongest allies during his presidency, serving in his Cabinet for almost four full years. January 6th was her breaking point. 

 

“To me, there was a line in the sand. It wasn’t about the election results. It was about the values and image of the United States. It was about public service rising above self. The president had lost sight of that,” she wrote about the attack in her recently released book, “Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child.”

 

DeVos has strongly criticized former President Trump’s role in January 6th. In her letter of resignation, DeVos wrote the following to Trump: “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me. Impressionable children are watching all of this, and they are learning from us.  I believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope they would emulate.  They must know from us that America is greater than what transpired yesterday.”

 

Prior to her resignation, DeVos was part of a group of Cabinet members that discussed plans to remove Trump from office via the 25th Amendment. According to her account, she spoke with other Cabinet members, and even Vice President Mike Pence, about doing so on January 7, 2021. 

 

Recently, DeVos has reportedly been in talks with the House Committee investigating the January 6th attack to sit for an interview and provide testimony on the Trump administration’s role in the attack.

 

Given DeVos’ public support of Tudor Dixon, a supporter of the January 6th attack, some speculate that DeVos’ willingness to cooperate with the January 6th Committee could harm Dixon’s election prospects. 

“I think the prospect of her cooperating with the January 6 committee poses a serious problem for tutor Dixon’s candidacy,” said Jeff Timmer, former chair of the Michigan GOP.