The nomination of John King to serve as secretary of education advanced out of the Senate education committee Wednesday. King was expected to have smooth sailing in the nomination process after a mostly cordial hearing on Feb. 25. He was approved by a wide margin, with 16 votes in favor; but six senators did vote against King.
One of the senators voting against King was Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. “I had a conversation with him and didn’t care for the answers that I got,” Enzi said. “I didn’t see him solving problems in the department. … I wasn’t convinced he was the right person.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., voted for King’s nomination Wednesday but said she wouldn’t support King on the Senate floor unless some of her concerns were addressed. “I believe he’s smart and capable, but I still have questions about how he plans to change the culture at the department,” Warren said. “There is too much at stake here for the millions of students who turn to the Department of Education to help them pay for a college education, and who, too many times now, have been ignored by that department.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted in favor of King’s nomination (through a proxy vote). Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., voted against King’s nomination after grilling King over school choice during the Feb. 25 hearing. At the hearing, King was supportive of school choice through public charter schools but opposed private school choice, like the Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
President Obama initially did not plan to formally nominate King for the post, preferring King to simply have the title of “acting” secretary of education. But Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate education committee, convinced Obama that the formal nomination process should apply, especially since this year the department is implementing a new major education law to replace No Child Left Behind.
King has been serving as the acting Secretary of Education since January 2016, when Arne Duncan retired. King’s nomination now advances to the floor of the full Senate.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
