Donald Trump’s most contentious cabinet appointee (so far), Betsy DeVos, is now the Secretary of Education. Her nomination cleared the Senate Tuesday afternoon after all 48 Democrats voted unanimously against her (along with 2 Republicans), resulting in a 50-50 tie that Vice President Mike Pence had to break in her favor. Read more from our own Alice Lloyd about the role liberal interest groups, particularly teachers’ unions, played in marshaling all those Democrats and the two Republicans (Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins) against DeVos.
It was the first time a vice president, as president of the Senate, has ever had to break a tie over a cabinet nomination, and the first such tie-breaker since the George W. Bush administration. But the Trump White House is saying they’re confident they won’t need to rely on Pence to get through the rest of their nominees. Look out for Jeff Sessions for Justice, Tom Price for Health and Human Services, and Steve Mnuchin for the Treasury later this week.
