Sen. Elizabeth Warren assured Iowans recently that if she’s elected president, then any future Secretary of Education will need the approval of a transgender child she met last year.

The presidential hopeful told a Cedar Rapids audience on Sunday that CNN’s LGBTQ town hall debate in October had such an effect on her that questioner Jacob Lemay, age 9, would be consulted if she ever occupies the White House.

“I have two qualifications that I talk about over and over for my Secretary of Education,” she said. “The first: It has to be someone who’s taught in a public school, hello? And part 2, because it came from a young trans person who asked about a welcoming community and I said it starts with a Secretary of Education who has a lot to do with where we spend our money, with what gets advanced in our public schools, with what the standards are, and I said, ‘I’m going to have a Secretary of Education that this young trans person interviews on my behalf.’ “

The Massachusetts Democrat then added: “Only if this person believes that our Secretary or Secretary of Education nominee is absolutely committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone will that person actually be advanced to be Secretary of Education.”

Warren says that she will have a “young trans person” interview her future Secretary of Education and only hire this future secretary if the young trans person approves.



This in reference to a question about sex education/LGBTQ history in public schools. pic.twitter.com/txyt6OI6FX — Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) January 30, 2020

Cheers erupted from the Iowa crowd at Ms. Warren’s remark.

The child in question first exchanged words with Ms. Warren during CNN’s Oct. 10, 2019, town hall debate in Los Angeles.

“What will you do in your first week as president to make sure that kids like me feel safer in schools, and what do you think schools need to do better to make sure that I don’t have to worry about anything but my homework?” the 9-year-old asked.

“I want to have a Secretary of Education who both believes in public education and believes in the value of every one of our kids and is willing to enforce our civil rights laws,” the senator replied. “I want to make sure that the person I think is the right Secretary of Education meets you and hears your story, and then I want you to tell me if you think that’s the right person.”

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