Today’s Briefing was written by Megan Zahneis, with contributions from Andy Thomason, Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz, and Julia Piper. Write us: [email protected].

DeVos resigns, calling Trump’s incitement of mob her ‘inflection point.’

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos submitted her resignation to President Trump last night, after he incited a mob to breach the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist whose resignation is effective today, is the latest high-level official to resign in the administration’s waning days. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news that DeVos, a controversial, long-serving cabinet member, was stepping down in the wake of Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol by the pro-Trump mob. In her resignation letter, posted by Politico, she wrote, in part, “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and that is the inflection point for me.” Here’s more from our Andy Thomason.

What other ripple effects will Wednesday’s events at the Capitol have on higher education and its role in society? Brian Rosenberg, president emeritus of Macalester College and president in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, takes stock in a Chronicle Review essay. Read it here.