Jennings Speaks on Fox News, Obama

Kevin Jennings, the assistant deputy secretary for safe and drug-free schools at the U.S. Department of Education and GLSEN founder, spoke to interns Tuesday about attacks against him spearheaded by Fox News and told the group that although his advocacy feels “constrained” in the Obama administration, he accepts the imperative to serve the president.

According to Metro Weekly, Jennings spoke with summer interns for 30 minutes in Washington, D.C., where one intern asked whether he feels constrained in the administration because of his previous high-profile advocacy at GLSEN, which works for safe schools for LGBT students.

''We're all here to serve the president's agenda,” said Jennings, according to Metro Weekly. “If I were president, there might be more progressive things going on than if the president was president, but the fact is I work for him.”

Metro Weekly
reports that Jennings continued, ''Do I feel constrained? Absolutely. Everybody who takes one of the jobs should feel constrained because we're not here to push our personal agenda; we're here to advance the president's agenda.''

Jennings also made several references to the homophobic attacks Fox News and conservatives launched against his appointment last year.

''I, as the leading proponent of stopping bullying in America, I was not going to allow myself to be bullied out of a job,'' said Jennings, according to Metro Weekly. ''There was no way. It was not going to happen."

''I've been preaching for 25 years that bullying is not okay. There was no way I could then say, 'Okay, well, I'll let you bully me.'''

Read the report of Jennings’ discussion with interns here.