Michigan State Rep. Tim Kelly is no longer being considered for position in the U.S. Department of Education after writing a series of blog posts that were offensive to Muslims and women in technology Education Week reports.
Donald Trump originally tapped Kelly to lead the office of career, technical and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education. A source told Education Week that Secretary of Education Betsy Devos made the decision after she was presented with evidence Kelly made these offensive remarks.
In one 2009 post on his “Citizen Leader” blog, Kelly suggested Muslims need to placed on the No-Fly list.
"Forget for a moment, that this young man from Nigeria purchased his one-way ticket with cash, had no luggage, or that his father had warned the authorities of his radicalism,” he wrote. “He should have been on anybody's no-fly list because his name is UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTALLAB! Zenaphobic [sic]? No, I'm being pragmatic ... Instead of assuming that all people are interested in, let alone capable of, blowing up Western, Christian, or Jewish things, let's assume all Muslims are."
In a subsequent post, Kelly appeared to assert that federal funds should not be spent to fund women in the sciences.
"Research shows that bias against women in the sciences is extremely weak. Studies point to data that indicate men and women simply have different tastes when it comes to areas of study,” he wrote. “For instance, women may be underrepresented in the fields of engineering, but thrive in the areas of sociology and biology. ... For my money, this kind of ridiculousness in academia should not be rewarded and certainly not paid for by the American taxpayer."
According to on administration official, decision came directly from Devos.
"It became clear that Mr. Kelly had made a series of statements that were not reflective of the secretary's values,” an administration official told Education Week. Kelly had been scheduled for a confirmation hearing on Nov. 15.
