Democrats in the Senate have heard the voices of their constituents and now they are preparing to take action in order to stop the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education in the Trump administration.
In an effort to convince one or two Republicans to flip their vote, Democrats plan to occupy the Senate floor overnight ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
Currently, there appears to be a dead heat between Senators who will vote in favor of DeVos and those who will oppose. As it stands now, Vice President Pence will be called on to break the tie – and we all know on which side his vote will fall.
Democrats and vocal constituents have already had some positive effect, flipping two GOP votes against DeVos, Maine Senator Susan Collins and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. As it stands, there are still a couple of Republican senators that may flip their vote, based mostly on the will of their constituents. Still, Democrats in the Senate are hoping they can make a convincing argument as well.
DeVos is almost universally reviled for the position she has been nominated for, having gone on-record as being in-favor of charter schools, lacking even the most basic knowledge of education debates and theories, refusing to uphold even the most foundational constitutional laws requiring equal treatment of disabled persons, and even plagiarizing many of her responses to the senate in a questionnaire.
DeVos has been strongly opposed by most Democrats, and outside of the partisan lines, the Teachers’ union is also uniquely divided against DeVos on the belief that she would divert public school monies from an already tight budget.
Senator Patty Murray explains below how she and several other Democrats will make a last push to keep DeVos far away from America’s children.
Watch:
Every single Democrat will be standing with their constituents and opposing Betsy DeVos. #NoOnDeVos pic.twitter.com/N5xZHptfik
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) February 6, 2017
