Betsy DeVos Confirmed As Secretary of Education After 51-50 Senate Vote

By  //  February 7, 2017

ABOVE VIDEO:  In the most contentious confirmation vote yet, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as President Trump’s secretary of education 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence having to cast the tie-breaking vote. 

(CBS NEWS) – In the most contentious confirmation vote yet, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as President Trump’s secretary of education 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence having to cast the tie-breaking vote. 

Lawmakers voted 50-50 to confirm DeVos, which forced Pence to break the tie, making history as he became the first vice president to resolve a deadlocked vote on Cabinet nomination.

The vote came after Senate Democrats pulled an all-nighter, speaking out against DeVos on the Senate floor Monday into Tuesday.

The Senate’s switchboard had been swamped by hundreds of thousands of phone calls concerning DeVos’ nomination, which also has held up the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, as attorney general because Republicans needed his vote.

Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and longtime school choice advocate, has emerged as one of Trump’s most controversial Cabinet picks. Labor unions have bitterly contested DeVos’ nomination, fearing that she will destroy public education by promoting charter schools and publicly funded voucher programs for private schools. Civil rights activists also fear she will do little to advocate for LGBT students and children with special needs.

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