The Senate has confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education after Vice President Mike Pence cast his tie-breaking vote for her. DeVos became the most contested nominee for a Cabinet position for President Donald Trump.
The Senate Democrats debated for a full 24 hours against DeVos, hoping to turn one more Republican senator to their side. Last week, Republican Senators Lisa Murjowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine announced they would not vote for DeVos. They kept their word and voted no.
This meant the vote ended at 50-50 after all the senators voted. Pence has become the first vice president to ever break a tie for a Cabinet nomination.
The teachers unions and leftists railed against DeVos because she champions school choice. DeVos doesn’t believe a zip code should determine where a child receives their education:
Ms. DeVos’s supporters said public-school students in low-performing schools should have other options, just as wealthy families who send their children to private schools do. They said charter schools often use creative teaching methods and have more flexibility than public schools to fire bad teachers.Ahead of the vote on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump wrote on twitter: “Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!”
The Democrats said that during her hearing before a Senate committee, Devos showed “a weak grasp of education policy and is unfit for the job.” But I don’t think they realize that the Department of Education does not run the public schools across America.
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) also reminded the Senate that the Department of Education cannot privatize public education, only Congress can do that.
Of course, leftists have lost their minds over this confirmation:
12:30PM EST:
12:29PM EST: Officially a 50-50 tie as expected.
12:17PM EST:
12:11PM EST:
12:09PM EST: 12 – YES and 14 – NO
12:03PM: Senate roll has started.
12:00PM EST:
11:52AM EST:
11:37AM EST: Pence is in the VP Office.
11:27AM EST Vice President Mike Pence has arrived on the Hill.
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