Posted on 02/03/2017 4:41:01 AM PST by abb
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education, overcame a key Senate hurdle early Friday morning, clearing the path for her expected confirmation.
Senators voted 52-48 to advance DeVos’s nomination. No Democrats voted yes.
The vote, which came during a rare Friday session, sets up lawmakers to take a final vote early next week.
Vice President Pence is expected to have to break a 50-50 tie, the first time a vice president will cast the deciding vote on a Cabinet nomination.
Senate rules require an extra 30 hours of debate before senators can confirm DeVos. If Democrats refuse to yield back time and drag out the procedural clock, they could push a final vote until Tuesday.
Republicans have no room for error to clear DeVos, with GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) saying they’ll vote against her.
The GOP mega-donor has been the subject of fierce opposition from teachers unions and other liberal groups opposed to her support for charter schools and tuition vouchers using public funds.
Opponents are hoping to peel off a third Republican senator, but appear unlikely to succeed.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), whom the Huffington Post reported as the “best option” for sinking the nomination, announced his support for DeVos late Thursday.
“I am pleased to vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education,” he said in a statement. “Too many American kids are being left behind every day. That is not acceptable to Betsy DeVos, and it is not acceptable to me.”
GOP Sens. John Hoeven (N.D.), Deb Fischer (Neb.) and Dean Heller (Nev.) —each considered potential swing votes — also said this week that they would support Trump’s pick.
Collins separately said that she isn’t trying to sway her GOP colleagues to vote against DeVos.
“I am doing what I think is right, and I respect that each senator has to make up his or her own mind,” she told reporters. “I’m not lobbying. I gave my speech on the floor.”
Opponents have also flooded Senate phone lines urging members to vote against her, and social media feeds have also been hit hard by anti-DeVos messages.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who came out against DeVos on Thursday, noted she had received 95,000 calls, emails and letters opposing her nomination. Murkowski separately said she received “thousands” of calls from concerned constituents.
Senate Democrats blasted DeVos ahead of the vote, arguing her lack of experience with public schools should disqualify her from leading the Education Department.
"When you judge her in three areas — conflicts of interest, basic confidence and ideology, views on Education policy, it is clear that Betsy DeVos is unfit for the job of Education secretary," Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. "In all three areas ... she ranks among the lowest of any cabinet nominee I have ever seen."
Under a 2013 decision, Democrats voted to lower the threshold for lower court and Cabinet posts to a simple majority from the previous 60-vote threshold.
If they hadn’t, Trump’s more controversial nominees, including DeVos and now-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, would likely not have been confirmed.
Despite the pushback, Senate GOP leadership and the White House stayed firmly in DeVos’s corner ahead of Friday’s vote.
“I expect her to be confirmed,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters. “You can take that to the bank.”
Which, of course, leads one to question...underqualified for what?
You’r missing the point entirely on this. She’s an implicit threat because she supports vouchers and charter schools.
What do you think that means for the power of teacher’s unions?
Vouchers are nothing more than our tax money being spent as we see fit as parents educating our children. Nothing more. Anything tied to vouchers (read our tax money) should not be tolerated. The government is not doing us any favors, we are doing them a favor by lessening the burden on the public schools and budgets.
Murkowski separately said she received “thousands” of calls from concerned constituents.Very cleverly stated by Murky KowskiAre there "thousands" of NEA employees in ALASKA?
Probably sereral 1000 of the calls were expressing positive statements about the candidate.
This woman and Collins are snakes.
>>compared to the others... I don’t get this one at all. She doesn’t seem all that bright.<<
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You’re not comparing against the right people. Try the other Department due for significant downsizing, i.e., DoE. I think Perry could give her a run for her money in the uninspiring category.
Remember, even the ‘27 Yankees had a few mediocrities, like Joe Dugan, third base (.229, 2, 43). They can’t all be Ruth and Gehrig!
To make themselves look good, hoping no one will notice when they vote against her.
Demturds and two RINOS more concerned about protecting bad teachers and NEA campaign contributions than your childrens’ education.
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Republican voters who supported these two RINOS should be calling their offices with threats to unseat them the next election cycle. The President should be really putting the pressure on them citing the common knowledge that they are the recipients of large donations from the teachers unions. In other words THEY HAVE BEEN BOUGHT like two cheap street walkers.
Senator Moran announced yesterday he was voting for her - so either that is an old post from your nephew, or he is uninformed.
They aren’t going to block her from getting her up or down vote even though they will vote to block her confirmation.
That’s good enough, though, to get her confirmed even though they are going to ultimately vote against her.
She didn’t come across to me as someone who could run a huge bureaucracy and reform it. The President will need to get some good deputies in there to assist with that.
He is a bit delusional. Cute but delusional.
Feb 01 2017
Sen. Moran Statement Following Meeting with Education Secretary Nominee Betsy DeVos
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) met with Betsy DeVos, nominee for Secretary of Education, in his Washington, D.C. office today and issued the following statement indicating his intention to support her confirmation:
“I have had a number of serious concerns about Betsy DeVos’ nomination to be our next Secretary of Education. Those concerns have been echoed by Kansas educators and parents I have met with and heard from over the last several weeks. During our meeting today, I laid out several of my top concerns – namely, the threat of a federally-mandated voucher program in our state, potentially insufficient enforcement and funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and more broadly, my desire to make certain that she shares my view about the limited role the federal government should play in education. Helping one group of students to find more opportunity should not come at the price of reducing the benefits of other students. High-performing schools – be they rural, urban or suburban – should determine how to best address their community’s unique educational needs rather than conform to broad, one-size-fits-all standards issued at the federal level, and I made that clear to her.
“Ms. DeVos confirmed to me that there will be no federally-mandated voucher program in the state of Kansas. She reassured me that the state, local districts and school boards will retain their important role in administering our schools and determining our students’ curriculum. She shares my interest in pursuing full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that our students with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a quality education and pursue their goals. And lastly, she agrees that we must return control over our students’ education to the state and local levels by implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act as Congress intended.
“Though I began our meeting unconvinced, I now expect to support her nomination knowing that, as Secretary of Education, Ms. DeVos will be working to make certain that all Kansas students are better off and that educational decisions are made by those who understand the unique needs of Kansas kids: educators, administrators and parents at the local level.”
She’s not there to run it or reform it.
what happened to closing education department?
Go, Betsy!
she promised I think it was the senator from Kansas that there would be no federal voucher system- I am not exactly sure how that would work, but I really want to decentralize our education system-
The Dept of Education should be killed, but you need Congress to do that.
I just spent some time at Google, and apparently what she tried to do in Detroit has failed miserably. One article compared what was done there with success in New Orleans, wherein there is some kind of central mechanism for dealing with conflict issues. Also she seems to have been strong for Common Core, although she now says she is not. While there a lot of charter schools and private schools there are even more public schools, especially in large cities. Since she never has gone to a public school, and I’ll bet she never sent her kids to one she will have no idea how to help public schools. I know the goal is to get rid of public schools, but Trump got elected on helping the little guy and the neglected, and this is just going to create even more neglect.
In addition a current problem with public schools, and probably many charter schools is a serious lack of good vocational training for modern jobs. Last night I spoke with a large city government employment services employee who was attending a meeting about a large development project. I asked if the schools in that city were teaching electrical to the point where a graduate could take the Journeyman’s exam. He said they did not and that was a big problem. He said they didn’t even have apprentice level training. He called it pre-apprentice teaching and said he would really like to see a big change. Common Core is aimed at the College oriented, but lots of work is not of that type and if Trump is bringing back factories, schools should also be teaching those relevant skills.
The charter school model never aspired to that. At the onset their results were skewed because they got to select their students, so there was little or no need to educate special needs or low ability students. Extra curricular? In so many places charter school students can do those things in their local schools, at public expense. Meanwhile, charter schools (here in OH anyway) by law take more money per-student than what the public school spends on their education.
I don't think anyone is on the side of what it takes to improve public education.
That whole ‘flak thickest over the target’ thing and all....
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