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Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie
New York Times
Mon Feb 6, 2017
Category: Politics
WASHINGTON - The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence.
The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos - a wealthy donor from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system - to be steward of the nation's schools.
Two Republicans voted against Ms. DeVos's confirmation, a sign that some members of President Trump's party are willing to go against him, possibly foreshadowing difficulty on some of the president's more contentious legislative priorities.
It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian. Taking the gavel as the vote deadlocked at 50-50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, declared his vote for Ms. DeVos before announcing that Mr. Trump's nominee for education secretary had been confirmed.
The two Republicans who voted against the nominee, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced their opposition to her last week. In back-to-back floor speeches, the lawmakers said Ms. DeVos was unqualified because of a lack of familiarity with public schools and with laws meant to protect students, despite her passion for helping them.
Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski said they had also been influenced by the thousands of messages they had received urging them to reject the nomination.
For many in the education community, Ms. DeVos's full-throated support for charter schools and vouchers - which allow students to use taxpayer dollars to pay tuition at private, religious and for-profit schools - is symptomatic of her disconnection from the realities of the education system.
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