Sen. Heidi Heitkamp announced Monday she will not support President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, and put a dent in predictions that red-state Democratic lawmakers up for re-election would back Trump’s Cabinet picks.
Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, said in a statement that she made the decision to oppose nominee Betsy DeVos because 1,400 constituents contacted her and nearly 95 percent said they oppose her confirmation.
Heitkamp said she also believes DeVos, a school choice advocate, showed “a severe lack of knowledge about public schools” during her Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month.
“After watching the U.S. Senate hearing on Ms. DeVos’ nomination, it was clear that she doesn’t understand the importance of public schools, highlighting her preference for private schools and her work to accomplish that goal by taking public funds away from public schools,” said Heitkamp, who is up for re-election in 2018.
North Dakota is considered a Republican state and voted 63 percent-27 percent for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Heitkamp, first elected in 2012, is rated by the non-partisan Cook Political Report as “likely” to be re-elected, but her seat falls into a category that could become competitive at some point. Heitkamp met privately with Trump during the presidential transition and was thought to be under consideration for a Cabinet post.
Republicans likely won’t need any Democrats to back Trump’s Cabinet picks, thanks to a 2013 rule change instituted by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that now requires only a simple majority to confirm executive branch and lower judicial branch nominees.
