A procedural vote along party lines early Friday morning decided to close contentious debate in the Senate over the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, which is now expected to fall to a 50-50 tie broken by Vice President Pence.
Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, members of the Senate’s committee on education, announced Wednesday they would be voting “no” on DeVos’s confirmation in the upcoming final tally. Both Collins and Murkowski doubted the nominee’s sufficient experience in public education and expressed concerns that a national emphasis on school choice initiatives, for which DeVos is a leading advocated, would not serve their rural states. Still, the two moderate Republican senators voted on Friday to move her confirmation along.
Statements supporting DeVos came Thursday from Republican senators still thought by some to be possible opponents of the now controversial nominee. Nebraska senator Deb Fischer—who, along with Collins and Murkowski, has in the past opposed expanding school voucher programs—announced that she had decided to vote to confirm DeVos, with the nominee’s assurance “the Department of Education will not impose new federal mandates related to vouchers on our schools.”
DeVos, who enjoys bipartisan support beyond Congress, will most likely pass confirmation early next week.
