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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 philanthropist 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.

The Senate is set for a showdown at noon Tuesday that will likely see Betsy DeVos, President Trump's nominee for education secretary, confirmed by the slimmest of margins with the help of Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to cast a tie-breaking vote. DeVos, who has been uniformly opposed by Senate Democrats, is perhaps the most reviled pick among Trump's Cabinet and administration selections. A staunch supporter of school choice, DeVos faced contentious confirmation hearings and even saw two Republicans break ranks and oppose her nomination.

Hundreds of former Environmental Protection Agency employees began protesting the nomination of President Trump's pick to lead the agency on Monday by urging the Republican leadership to vote against the nominee's confirmation. Nearly 450 former staff members sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday expressing deep reservations over approving the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt becoming EPA administrator. They said, if confirmed, Pruitt would shirk his duties to protect Americans' public health, which they said has not been the case with either a Democratic or Republican EPA administrator in the past. "The American...

Senate Democrats said they plan to hold the floor of the chamber for the next 24 hours, leading up to the vote to confirm President Donald Trump's choice to be education secretary, in hopes of drawing enough attention to the issue to derail Betsy DeVos' nomination. While the Democrats decision to work overnight adds publicity to the topic, the party does not have the numbers to block a final confirmation vote and DeVos is still expected to be voted on for final confirmation Tuesday. "Democrats will hold the floor for the next 24 hours, until the final vote, to do...

Virtually all Democratic senators are expected to vote against President Trump’s picks to lead the departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury and his top budget nominee — a historic rebuke of a first-term president’s top Cabinet nominees.

Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, appears to have made a false statement under oath to the Senate. This was first reported Monday by Fusion's Daniel Rivero. Business Insider was later able to confirm the underlying facts of Rivero's article. Pruitt — the attorney general of Oklahoma known for 14 lawsuits designed to fight regulations and cleanup efforts by the agency he hopes to lead — made the apparent false statement when referring to an ongoing environmental lawsuit involving several poultry companies in Arkansas. Pruitt's predecessor, Drew Edmondson, brought the case against Tyson Foods,...

Both South Carolina senators have announced support for President Trump's pick for the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

Senate Democrats are planning a rare all-night talkathon to protest Betsy DeVos's nomination for Education secretary ahead of an expected vote on Tuesday."Democrats will hold the floor for the next 24 hours, until the final vote, to do everything we can to persuade just one more Republican to join us," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said from the Senate floor Monday.

Vice President Mike Pence says he fully expects billionaire GOP donor Betsy DeVos will be confirmed as education secretary with his tie-breaking vote. […] Last week, two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said they would vote against DeVos’ nomination, citing concerns from parents and teachers. …

The next U.S. ambassador to the European Union is warning that his boss, President Donald Trump, won’t take any “bull—-” from Brussels. How’s that for start to diplomacy? Ted Malloch, Trump’s pick for the post, shocked BBC presenters Sunday morning with his bluntness, predicting the impending collapse of the EU as President Trump continues to lay down the law. During an interview with Pienaar’s Politics, the economist, WND author and contributor said the time is over for “baby talk and political correctness” of EU elites such as Angela Merkel, Jean-Claude Juncker and Guy Verhofstadt. The early Brexit backer said Trump...

And we have looooooong memories I hear that Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, both Republicans who have decided to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, take a lot of money from teacher unions. That’s unusual for Republicans, but they’re unusual Republicans. They’re by no means conservative on many issues, and whenever an effort is underway to pass an important conservative legislative priority, these two are usually among the most nervous and hard-to-persuade Republican senators.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Betsy DeVos moved closer toward confirmation as education secretary Friday after clearing a major hurdle in the Senate, even as Democrats and labor unions fervently sought another Republican vote against her.Tensions flew on the Senate floor during an early-morning session, with a senior Republican saying DeVos will make an "excellent" secretary and a top Democrat calling her "one of the worst nominees." Republicans overpowered Democrats, voting 52-48 to cut off debate on the nomination, setting the stage for a final vote Tuesday.DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor, has faced fierce criticism from labor unions for her promotion of...

WASHINGTON ― The possibility of someone lying to Congress used to be frowned upon by Republicans. How can anyone forget the chairmen of two committees referring perjury charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the FBI over her clashing email explanations? But that was before Donald Trump won the presidency, and before the alt-fact era. Now two of Trump’s nominees who arguably lied to Congress are not facing perjury referrals but are on the verge of being confirmed to lead the nation’s departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services. To recap: Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin told...

Republicans on a Senate committee on Thursday suspended panel rules to force a vote on President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee over a Democratic protest. Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee, led by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), changed the rules governing a quorum so that only the panel’s Republicans needed to be in attendance to approve Scott Pruitt’s nomination to lead the EPA. The committee’s full roster of Republicans — including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), whose nomination to be attorney general is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor — attended Thursday’s hearing and approved Pruitt on an...

Washington (CNN)Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both said Wednesday they would not vote to support Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's choice for education secretary. The two women are the first sitting Republican senators to publicly say they wouldn't back one of Trump's Cabinet nominees.The stunning decision from a pair of veteran Republican lawmakers puts DeVos in a tenuous position as her final vote before the Senate nears, but top Republican aides are confident she will be confirmed.

Murray Votes No on Advancing Betsy DeVos Nomination

Tillerson Confirmed Secretary of State

Republicans muscled through committee approval of President Donald Trump's nominees for Treasury and Health on Wednesday, suspending a key Senate rule in the latest escalation of partisan tensions in Congress. Democrats boycotted a Finance Committee meeting and Republicans responded by temporarily scuttling a rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for votes. The committee then approved Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to become Health secretary and financier Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary by a pair of 14-0 votes. Democrats had been demanding time to ask more questions about both nominees. Democrats say there were unresolved questions about both...

Senate Republicans pushed through a pair of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees Wednesday, upending standard committee rules to circumvent a Democratic boycott. The Senate Finance Committee advanced a pair of Trump’s nominees with only Republican members present — Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of Health and Human Services.

Senate Republicans pushed through a pair of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees Wednesday, upending standard committee rules to circumvent a Democratic boycott. The Senate Finance Committee advanced a pair of Trump’s nominees with only Republican members present — Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of Health and Human Services.