Virginia Foxx Reflects on Her Time in the Hot Seat
Liam Knox
December 18, 2024
The departing chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee discusses the year that shook higher ed, abolishing the Education Department and ushering in a new era for federal oversight of colleges.
It’s Virginia Foxx’s last week as chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and she’s feeling reflective.
When the North Carolina Republican assumed the chair in early 2023, she told Inside Higher Ed her main goal was to finally reauthorize the Higher Education Act, which had been languishing since 2008. But Foxx will fall short of that goal when she steps down as chair at the end of this year. The College Cost Reduction Act, a sweeping bill to overhaul higher ed, came four votes short of reaching the House floor last week, despite a final push from Foxx and other lawmakers.
It’s a disappointing outcome for the 81-year-old, who has spent her entire two decades in the House sitting on the committee.
