Vice President Mike Pence saved Betsy DeVos’ nomination to be education secretary on Tuesday, by using his constitutional power to cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate after two Republicans jumped ship and voted with Democrats against her confirmation.
Two centrist Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, followed through on their plans to vote against DeVos, citing opposition from teachers and parents who fear DeVos’ school choice advocacy will hurt public schools.
That created a 50-50 tie in the Senate, forced Pence to break the tie and confirm her in a 51-50 vote. It was the first time ever a vice president has broken a tie for a Cabinet slot.
Pence’s role took mere minutes. He was ushered into the Senate president’s chair and announced the roll call was split evenly before casting his vote in favor of DeVos.
“The ayes appear to have it,” Pence said. “The ayes do have it. And the motion is agreed to.”
After the vote, DeVos tweeted: “I appreciate the Senate’s diligence & am honored to serve.” Pence will swear DeVos in at 5:30 Tuesday afternoon.
I appreciate the Senate’s diligence & am honored to serve as @usedgov Secretary. Let’s improve options & outcomes for all US students.
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) February 7, 2017
The dramatic vote followed an all-night Senate floor session by Democrats who argued against DeVos, and it ended several days of speculation over whether she would lose support from any other Republicans. One more defection would have given Democrats a 49-51 vote against her, and forced Trump to find another nominee.
The marathon floor session could do nothing to stop the DeVos confirmation, but Democrats said it would help remind people of what DeVos does once in office.
“Of course Democrats ought to bring to light who Betsy DeVos is so when she does things that hurt public education as secretary, the American people know what’s happening and can stand up against it,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Republicans praised her as a common-sense choice to help reform what for many is a broken educational system.
“Her support for public charter schools some people don’t like,” said Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “But 2.7 million children attend them and their 6,800 schools are the most effective public school reform in 30 years.”
But DeVos has faced fierce criticism from Democrats, labor unions and public educators across the country who assailed her lack of knowledge about public school teaching methodologies, as well as her promotion of school choice in federal government education spending decisions.
“Miss DeVos used her significant wealth and influence, apparently to push an education reform agenda centered on vouchers, centered on for-profit charter schools that delivered questionable outcomes for students and taxpayers,” said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
Democrats also accused DeVos of having business and financial interests that would create numerous conflicts of interest with her job of running the Department of Education.
Republicans blamed teacher unions and left-wing activists for drumming up opposition to DeVos over their efforts to thwart charter schools and taxpayer-subsidized school vouchers that give parents options outside the public school system.
DeVos’ nomination ran into trouble after her appearance before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions last month. Under Democratic questioning, DeVos repeatedly avoided saying whether she would uphold Obama administration guidelines on handling campus sexual assault.
She also tried to dodge a question on whether she would follow through with President Trump’s promise to end gun-free school zones. “I will support what the president-elect does,” she said, suggesting that guns might be needed in some rural areas of the country because of the threat of “potential grizzlies.”
