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Two Republican senators who expressed serious doubts about Betsy DeVos's nomination for education secretary confirmed in remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday that they will not support her confirmation. The defections of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Maine Senator Susan Collins mean if Democrats can hold the line in opposing DeVos, they would need one more Republican no vote to block her confirmation.
But getting another Republican to oppose President Trump's cabinet pick could be a tall order for opponents of DeVos. So far, only one Republican has voted against a cabinet nominee submitted by the new president -- Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who voted against new CIA Director Mike Pompeo's nomination.
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin also said Wednesday that he would vote against DeVos, citing her focus on charter schools as a school-choice activist and her lack of exposure to the public education system. Only a handful of Democrats have yet to publicly weigh in on DeVos: Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Richard Durbin (Ill.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.).
Washington Democrat Patty Murray, the ranking member on the Senate education committee, released a statement after the Collins and Murkowski comments calling for more time for senators to debate DeVos's experience and qualifications to lead the Department of Education.
“Republicans are doing everything they can to ram through President Trump’s nominee for secretary of education despite serious questions about her finances and potential conflicts of interest, her clear lack of understanding of basic education issues, and her ideological commitment to privatizing and defunding public education in America," Murray said. "Parents, teachers and families across the country are standing up, making their voices heard and demanding that the Senate stand with students and reject Betsy DeVos."
While they said they would vote against her, both Murkowski and Collins voted to begin debate on her nomination. Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate education committee, said DeVos would be an excellent secretary, citing her commitment to expanding access to charter schools in the K-12 education system.
"She's committed to public education, and there's no better example of that than her work on the most important reform of public schools in the last 30 years -- public charter schools," Alexander said in a statement. "She's made it clear that there will be no mandates from Washington to have vouchers or adopt Common Core when she is the education secretary."
