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‘Should scare the sh*t out of everyone’: Randi Weingarten tapped for new government position

June 23, 2023 | | Print Article

Perhaps one of the most reviled faces of the COVID-19 pandemic belongs to liberal teachers union president Randi Weingarten who championed the virtues of school lockdowns, ineffective masks, and untested vaccines on children.

Despite having infuriated American parents from sea to shining sea with her botched response to the virus, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced this week that Weingarten has been tapped for a panel tasked with “strategic and actionable recommendations to the Secretary on campus safety and security, improved coordination, research priorities, hiring, and more.”

“The newly appointed members” to the Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council (HSAPC) “are a diverse group representing higher education associations, campus law enforcement, two- and four-year colleges and universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions,” the press release proudly states.

Among those “diverse” people chosen to serve on the council are Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Northwestern University President Michael Schill, and San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre.

And then there’s Weingarten, a woman former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once called the “most dangerous person in the world.”

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“Leaders of our academic institutions and campus life have a great deal to offer in helping us counter the evolving and emerging threats to the homeland,” Mayorkas said, according to the press release. “The Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council’s insights into strategic research, innovation, career development, and partnership opportunities for the Department will support our mission to safeguard the American people, and help our country think through and prepare for whatever threats lie ahead.”

Weingarten serves as the president of the American Federation of Teachers, which “represents 1.7 million public school teachers and school staff, higher education faculty and other campus workers, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and public employees,” according to its website. Last week, the union formally endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the Democratic presidential primary.

“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are the most pro-labor, pro-public education leaders our country has seen in modern history,” Weingarten said in the announcement. “Joe and Kamala understand in their souls the challenges families face, and how important it is to their dignity to earn a decent living and have a shot at owning a home, or securing a retirement, or affording college. They know union membership can be transformative.”

“This weekend,” she continued, “the entire labor movement is joining together in an unprecedented show of strength and support to harness the collective power of working people determined to move this country in the direction of freedom, justice and opportunity for all.”

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Weingarten praised Biden’s efforts to “reshape” the U.S. economy.

“This president and vice president are committed to reshaping the economy and government to help working people and their families have a better life,” she said. “From funding schools, to reviving pensions, to game-changing student loan debt cancellation and fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, to expanding the child tax credit—Joe and Kamala have been focused on the programs that make a difference in people’s everyday lives.”

On Twitter, however, many believe the union leader needs to stay far away from Homeland Security.

“This should scare the sh*t out of everyone,” one user said, “whether you have a child in school or not.”

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“.@rweingarten is the last person who should be advising anyone on school safety,” tweeted Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

“Randi Weingarten has destroyed academic success for a generation of American students,” Sen. Scott’s communication director, McKinley Lewis wrote.

“What an insult to every parent who dealt with closed schools,” stated Pompeo.

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And Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) wondered why DHS is “rewarding bad policy.”

“Randi Weingarten chose appeasing teacher unions over getting students back in the classroom during the pandemic,” Cline tweeted. “Now, math and reading scores for the Nation’s 13-year-olds are at the worst decline in decades.”

Melissa Fine
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