‘White suburban moms’ rejoice! Education Secretary Duncan resigns, Obama sidesteps Congress

arne-duncanChampagne bottles were popped open Friday night . . . cheers could be heard in suburbia.

Arne Duncan, who has served as President Barack Obama’s secretary for the Department of Education from the beginning of the administration, announced that he will be leaving his post as of December.

Duncan’s name is mud with many parents because of his enthusiastic support of the controversial Common Core standards, and his insistence that the federal government exert increased control over education.

Criticism of Common Core left Duncan livid.

He referred to the program’s critics last year as “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary.”

Duncan later said he regretted his remarks, calling it a case of “clumsy phrasing.”

President Barack Obama decided not to appoint a replacement secretary in order to avoid a confirmation fight with a Republican-controlled Congress. Instead, he will appoint Education Department official John King Jr. as an “acting secretary” to serve for the remaining 15 months 0f his administration.

“John comes to this role with a record of exceptional accomplishment as a lifelong educator — a teacher, a school leader, and a leader of school systems,” Duncan said in an email to department officials, according to Fox News.

This move will likely draw criticism from GOP senators, given that the Senate has the constitutional power to confirm or reject cabinet-level appointments.

Fox News reported:

Duncan is one of just a few remaining members of Obama’s original cabinet. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan have also served in the Cabinet since the first term. Donovan, however, first served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Duncan came to Washington from Chicago, where he ran the city’s public school system. As part of the Chicago cohort that followed Obama to Washington, Duncan is one of few Cabinet members who has a personal relationship with the president. A basketball player at Harvard University who played professionally in Australia, Duncan was once a regular in Obama’s weekend basketball games.

Before assuming his senior role in the Department of Education, King ran New York state’s public schools and universities as its education commissioner.

Watch the news clip below, via Fox News.

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