BREAKING: VP Mike Pence casts historic tie-breaking vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Pres. Trump’s education secretary https://t.co/HxFJAzYvbx pic.twitter.com/eorEjaUC5N
— CNN (@CNN) February 7, 2017
On Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was officially confirmed as Secretary of Education after Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking Senate vote. It was a historic vote, as it was the first time a cabinet approval needed the vice president to break a tie, and two Republicans crossed party lines to vote against her.
DeVos’ eventual confirmation had a rocky road, as many questioned her credentials heading into the Senate vote. She didn’t instill much confidence in her qualifications, as she had trouble addressing standard education policies during her confirmation hearing and is an infamous proponent of charter schools. And let us not forget her support of guns in schools, which she illustrated by using the example of a school being attacked by bears. In addition, she also may have plagiarized some answers to a Senate questionnaire, so her tenure is not off to a solid start.
Despite half of the Senate’s reservations and an all-night filibuster, the final vote came down to a 50-50 vote tie. It should be noted Republicans held a 52-48 majority in the Senate, but two Republicans (Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski) crossed party lines to vote against DeVos. Per the constitution, Pence was brought in to break the tie and voted in her favor. DeVos’ confirmation brings up more questions regarding Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments, as qualifications of some are still being challenged.