Morgan Watkins

@morganwatkins26

As the federal vote on Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos looms, Louisville resident Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons wanted his representative, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, to know where he stands.

But Graves-Fitzsimmons hasn't been able to reach Paul's staff despite repeatedly calling the senator's offices this week. He got the chance to leave a voicemail once.

► UPDATE: Betsy DeVos clears procedural vote toward confirmation

"I admire Sen. Paul's independence from the Republican Party ... so I actually believed he would listen to his constituents," he said. "He just isn't picking up the phone, I guess."

Graves-Fitzsimmons isn't the only one having trouble reaching Paul and his staff. Kelsey Cooper, Paul's state communications director, said the office has had an influx of calls lately, many of which are from out of state.

"I know that plenty of other Senate offices are having issues with a high volume of calls coming in right now," Cooper said. "We are picking up as many of the phone calls as we can."

People have called about a mix of topics, including DeVos, said Cooper, who has helped answer calls. Staffers have seen an uptick in citizen emails, too.

"That's kind of the beauty of democracy that people want to call their representatives and voice their concerns," she said.

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But the deluge of calls can be time-consuming, leaving staffers with less time to address personal concerns Kentuckians want help with, such as problems with veterans' benefits, Cooper said.

Several of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees have been contentious, perhaps none more so than DeVos, a major Republican donor. The Michigan billionaire's lack of experience in public education and fervent support of alternatives like charter schools have sparked grassroots efforts to derail her nomination for Education secretary.

Two Republican senators announced Wednesday that they will not vote for DeVos when her nomination reaches the Senate floor. With the chamber's Democrats apparently united against DeVos, Wednesday's announcement sparked a barrage of social media posts encouraging people to urge other conservative senators to ditch DeVos too.

This week, Paul confirmed his support for DeVos in an emailed statement from a spokeswoman.

"Sen. Paul believes every child in Kentucky and America deserves a chance to get a quality education. Increasing the choices parents and students have and getting Washington out of the way are the most important things the federal government can do to improve the education opportunities available to our children," the statement said. "Ms. DeVos is committed to those principles and Sen. Paul supports her nomination."

Graves-Fitzsimmons didn't reach out to Kentucky's other senator, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, about DeVos because he said he knows McConnell will back Trump's pick. But with Paul — who recently voted against another Trump nominee, newly minted CIA Director Mike Pompeo — Graves-Fitzsimmons saw someone willing to consider his concerns.

He said he wished Paul's team had taken his call before backing DeVos.

People have had trouble reaching McConnell too. Indivisible KY, an anti-Trump organization, rallied Tuesday outside the senator's Louisville office. People held phones up as a sign of their inability to get in touch with McConnell, whose spokesman issued a statement that said Kentuckians have had a hard time reaching their senator "thanks to a coordinated effort by liberal activists across the country."

Dawn Cooley, co-founder of Indivisible KY, said that both Kentucky senators' decisions affect people outside their home state. McConnell and Paul need to make improvements, such as bigger voicemail boxes that store more messages, she said.

"How are they supposed to be able to know what their constituents want if they are not able to hear them?" Cooley asked. "It's not the constituents who need to change. It's the system that is not sufficient to handle our feedback."

Despite the phone trouble, Cooley said her group is grateful for Paul's willingness to "part from the pack." Members of Paul's staff even contacted Indivisible KY's leaders to schedule a meeting after the organization held a rally near his office.

Contact reporter Morgan Watkins at 502-875-5136 or mwatkins@courier-journal.com.

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