Dem lawmaker says he owes hammers apology after calling DeVos 'dumb as a bag of hammers'

Rep. Jared Huffman Jared William HuffmanBipartisan senators introduce tree conservation bill as climate solution Biden picks leave Democrats with slimmest House majority in modern history OVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA declines to tighten key air pollution standards | Despite risks to polar bears, Trump pushes ahead with oil exploration in Arctic | Biden to champion climate action in 2021 MORE (D-Calif.) took aim at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Betsy DeVosDeVos urges Education Dept. staff to 'resist' when Biden takes office Making higher education great again 17-year-old diagnosed with COVID-19 after school required her to take SAT in person MORE on Thursday, humorously apologizing to hammers in a tweet for once saying DeVos was "dumb as a bag of hammers."

“I once took heat for calling Betsy DeVos 'dumb as a bag of hammers.' But after her 4 years as our Education Secretary, I now realize an apology is owed. To hammers,” wrote Huffman.

I once took heat for calling Betsy DeVos "dumb as a bag of hammers." But after her 4 years as our Education Secretary, I now realize an apology is owed. To hammers. https://t.co/k84VOJ81sH — Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) December 16, 2020

In 2018 Huffman referred to DeVos as “rich, white, and dumber than a bag of hammers,” after a "60 Minutes" interview in which she appeared to struggle to answer questions posed by interviewer Lesley Stahl on the state of education in her home state of Michigan.

With his tweet Huffman shared a link to a Politico piece detailing how DeVos allegedly told Department of Education employees to “be the resistance” once President-elect Joe Biden Joe BidenDeVos urges Education Dept. staff to 'resist' when Biden takes office LGBTQ groups celebrate Buttigieg pick for Transportation secretary Biden administration needs bipartisan solutions for older Americans, lawmakers say MORE assumes office on Jan. 20.

“Let me leave you with this plea: Resist,” DeVos said during a meeting to discuss the upcoming transition. “Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students. In everything you do, please put students first — always.”

Politico notes that DeVos has had a somewhat combative relationship with career department employees, once saying of the Education Department, “This building has caused more problems than it solved.”

DeVos has been a controversial Education Secretary pick since before she assumed the position, largely due to her lack of experience in education. Before joining the Trump administration, she had been a major donor to Republican campaigns.

In October, a U.S. district judge excoriated DeVos for failing to properly address 160,000 student loan forgiveness claims, calling her process "disturbingly Kafkaesque." Under DeVos's instruction, 95 percent of applications were denied, with most applications rejected without proper explanation.

Reports came out on Thursday that two candidates have emerged as the top contenders to be Biden’s Education secretary: Leslie T. Fenwick, dean emeritus of the Howard University School of Education, and Miguel Cardona, Connecticut commissioner of Education.