Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos should not have been blocked from entering a Washington, D.C. public school by protesters.
DeVos attempted on Friday to enter Jefferson Middle School Academy in D.C., but protesters blocked the steps, preventing her from going into the school. The newly confirmed secretary of education was escorted by her security team into her car and eventually make it into the school for a scheduled event.
Franken, who vocally opposed DeVos' nomination, told CNN host Jake Tapper on Sunday that she should have been allowed to enter.
"I know you opposed her and you don't think that she is going to be a good secretary of education, but shouldn't she have the right to walk into a D.C. public school?" Tapper asked. "Shouldn't that be something that we embrace?"
"Yes, and it would have been her first time ever in a public school," Franken said, in an apparent swipe at DeVos for her critical stance on the public education system.
"Is that true?" Tapper asked.
"No, I don't know," Franken responded.
"No, she should be able, she should be able to do her job," Franken continued. "They should not prevent her from doing her job that way."
Franken then said that DeVos was the least qualified nominee he has ever seen but added that he is eager to work with her since she is the current secretary of education.