FILE - In this June 5, 2018, file photo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies during a Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations in Washington. Facing a federal lawsuit and mounting pressure to act, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, said she will forgive loans for more than 1,500 borrowers who attended a pair of for-profit colleges that shut down last year.

WASHINGTON — House Democrats clashed with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in a Thursday hearing that nearly spun out of control when one lawmaker called DeVos “the most unpopular person in our government” and said she’s “out to destroy public education.”

DeVos was facing the House’s education committee to explain her overhaul of a federal program that erases loans for students who are cheated by their colleges. Some Democrats believe DeVos intentionally stalled the program for more than a year while she rewrote the rules and made it more difficult for students to get loan relief.

Several Democratic lawmakers had taken turns criticizing DeVos’ handling of the program when it turned personal. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., said DeVos is the first political opponent she has encountered who is “out to destroy public education.”

“When you approach a public school, you are protested. When you enter, you are booed,” Wilson said. “You are the most unpopular person in our government. Millions will register to vote in 2020. Many will vote to remove you more than to remove the president.”