Senate Confirms DeVos, With Pence Breaking Tie
The U.S. Senate today approved Betsy DeVos as the next secretary of education, as Vice President Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in her favor.
The vote by a vice president to break a deadlock over a cabinet official was a first in U.S. history. Her nomination was strongly opposed by Democrats and ultimately
by two Republicans senators.
President Trump announced just before Thanksgiving that he would nominate DeVos, a billionaire and philanthropist from Michigan, to lead the Department of Education.
A former Republican Party chairwoman in her home state, DeVos was best known nationally for using her immense personal wealth to back political campaigns in favor of so-called school choice measures, such as the expansion of charter schools and vouchers.
She has virtually no track record in -- and has said very little about -- higher education.
Read more about today's vote and DeVos
here.
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