Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education on Tuesday by 51-50 when Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. But Daily Show host Trevor Noah thinks that DeVos’ confirmation, which was opposed by Democrats, will mean that fewer people have access to education.
Noah has been among DeVos’ many critics on late night. In a recent segment, Noah lampooned DeVos for not knowing the difference between proficiency and growth and asserting that schools need guns to protect themselves from bear attacks. During an interview with TIME shortly after news of her confirmation broke, Noah weighed in on what it might mean for the future of education in America.
“America seems to be going back to a place where your wealth will determine how much knowledge you can attain,” Noah said. “And so I think it’s a scary time. If Betsy DeVos gets to do everything she wants to, you will live in a world where even more people who do not have the means will now no longer have the opportunity to achieve the means.”
He added: “It goes back to that saying, which is: ‘Teach a man to fish.’ Well, now it looks like in America it’s: ‘Can the person afford to be taught how to fish?’ And we get further and further away from people being able to feed themselves.”
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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com