Senate confirms DeVos — barely
VP’s rare vote for education nominee sparks reaction nationwide, in NM
WASHINGTON — Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos’ confirmation as education secretary Tuesday by the slimmest of margins, pushed to approval by the historic tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence, sparked strong reaction from New Mexico officials.
New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera lauded DeVos as an agent of change who will “shake up the status quo,” while the state’s two senators voted against the nomination, citing DeVos’ con- troversial positions on everything from Title IX to civil rights law. A New Mexico teachers union called DeVos’ confirmation a “low point” for public schools.
On the Senate floor, two Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joined Democrats in a marathon effort to derail the nomination of the wealthy Republican donor. The Senate historian said Pence’s vote was the first by a vice president to break a 50-50 tie on a Cabinet nomination.
Despite the win, DeVos emerged bruised from the highly divisive nomination fight. Opposed by half the Senate, she faced criticism, even ridicule for lack of experience in public schools and confusion during her confirmation hearing. At one point, she said some schools should have guns because of the threat of grizzly bears.
And there has been scathing opposition from teachers unions and civil rights activists over her support of charter schools and her conservative religious ideology.
President Donald Trump accused Democrats of seeking to torpedo education progress. In a tweet before the vote, he wrote, “Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!”
New Mexico’s Skandera echoed that message.
“At the end of the day, whenever someone goes to shake up the status quo, you can expect a pretty big pushback,” Skandera told the Journal. “We’ve seen that here in New Mexico, and it is no different on the national stage. I believe Secretary DeVos is committed to shaking up the status quo, advocating for our students and parents to have voice and choice, and I believe she’ll deliver on that promise.”
DeVos was sworn in hours after the Senate vote by Pence, who told the new Cabinet member: “I wasn’t just voting for you. Having seen your devotion to improving the quality of education for some of our most vulnerable children across the nation for so many years, I was also casting a vote for America’s children.”
DeVos released a statement promising to be “a tireless advocate for all students.”
She now takes the helm of a department charged with implementing laws affecting the nation’s public schools. Her opponents noted that she has no experience running public schools, nor did she attend one or send her children to one.
Skandera said DeVos’ experience may be limited, but the new secretary will be working with a team at the U.S. Department of Education.
For several months, rumors have swirled that Skandera may become part of that team. On Tuesday, Skandera would only say she is devoted to her work in New Mexico.
DeVos will also have to address several hot-button issues in higher education, such as rising tuition costs, growing student debt and troubled for-profit colleges, many of which have closed down, leaving students with huge loans and without a good education or job prospects.
Close attention also will be paid to how DeVos deals with sexual assault and freedom of speech on campuses.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, emotions ran high as constituents jammed senators’ phone lines. Protesters gathered outside the Capitol, including one person in a grizzly bear costume to ridicule DeVos.
Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, received more than 6,300 emails and 2,000 telephone calls opposing her nomination in the past month.
“These are record numbers for my office for a Cabinet nominee,” he said on the Senate floor. “Many of those calls and letters are from public school parents and teachers, men and women who are dedicated to our students and our public education system. They understand that Betsy DeVos is not qualified to lead our nation’s public education system.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, also voted “no.”
In a prepared statement, American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly called DeVos’ confirmation “a low point for our public schools.”
“Ms. DeVos is in favor of policies that will weaken the longstanding tradition of public education in our country in favor of privatization and the weakening of our neighborhood schools,” Ly said. “Moreover the bipartisan opposition to this now-Secretary underscores her blatant lack of qualifications and historic hostility to not only public education, but also unionized workers.”
“President Trump’s swamp got a new billionaire today,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. “Millions of teachers, parents and students could not have made their opposition to Betsy DeVos’ confirmation any clearer — they do not want someone whose only education experience is dismantling public schools.”
DeVos supporters, however, saw her confirmation as an occasion to breathe new life into a troubled American school system and a chance to shift power from Washington to the local level.
“She has been a leader in the movement for public charter schools — the most successful reform of public education during the last 30 years,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Education Committee. “And she has worked tirelessly to help low-income children have more choices of better schools.”
In addition to DeVos, Republicans hope to confirm a series of other divisive nominees this week: Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, GOP Rep. Tom Price of Georgia as health secretary and financier Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary.