Update: On Tuesday afternoon, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as education secretary, with Vice President Mike Pence’s vote acting as a tie-breaker.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a full vote today on the confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos. DeVos is perhaps Trump’s most contested pick among a group of controversial Cabinet nominees. DeVos is a longtime backer of charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. She and her husband have also invested in a student debt collection agency that does business with the Education Department. On Monday, Senate Democrats took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to begin a 24-hour protest opposing DeVos. Last week, two Republican lawmakers, Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, announced plans to vote against DeVos, leaving Senate Republicans one vote short of confirming her. If the Senate vote is 50-50, Vice President Mike Pence would then cast the deciding vote — an event that has never happened to any other presidential nominee in history. We speak to Democratic Congressmember Maxine Waters of California.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The Senate is scheduled to hold a full vote today on the confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos. DeVos is perhaps Trump’s most contested pick among a group of controversial Cabinet nominees. DeVos is a longtime backer of charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. She and her husband have also invested in a student debt collection agency that does business with the Education Department. On Monday, Senate Democrats took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to begin a 24-hour protest opposing her appointment. This is Michigan Senate Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW: You know, Betsy DeVos’s nomination is very personal to many people who live in Michigan, because Betsy DeVos is from Michigan. And her vision of education and her actions have, unfortunately, played a major role in…