Betsy DeVos’ nomination as education secretary has seen an outpouring of opposition. | Getty Thousands flood Senate phone lines seeking to halt confirmation of DeVos

Senators’ offices have been flooded with thousands of calls and letters opposing the nomination of Betsy DeVos — with some Democratic offices saying the opposition to DeVos is stronger than for any other Cabinet nominee.

The office of Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from the large battleground state of Pennsylvania, has received more than 50,000 letters and emails opposing DeVos’ confirmation as education secretary — a “very high” level compared to other Cabinet nominees, Casey’s office said. Casey has said he will vote “no” to confirming DeVos during Tuesday’s meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.


Likewise, the offices of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) say DeVos has prompted some of the heaviest feedback — with Sanders’ office saying the education secretary pick prompted the most calls, and Harris’ office saying the amount of feedback on DeVos was among the most for any nominee. Sanders — who questioned DeVos during her Senate confirmation hearing about whether she’d have been nominated if she wasn’t a billionaire — has received 5,700 calls and 838 letters to his Washington office about DeVos, and all of the correspondence is against her. Harris’ spokesman said she’s gotten 2,000 calls, with most of the callers opposing her nomination.

Similarly, the office of Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said it has received at least 25,000 emails and letters about DeVos, and another 1,000 phone calls. The vast majority opposed her nomination. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office reported hundreds of calls on Tuesday to his Washington and New York offices — largely from parents and current or former teachers. Schumer’s office said the flood of calls regarding DeVos was rivaled only by the number of calls opposing Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general.

DeVos is a GOP mega-donor and education advocate who has long been a top target for Democrats. But her shaky performance during her confirmation hearing last week, in which she appeared to be confused about federal special education law and referenced a Wyoming school with grizzly bears when discussing gun policy, appears to have emboldened her critics.

Teachers unions and progressive groups have encouraged members to call lawmakers to voice their opposition — a call reiterated during Saturday’s women’s march by filmmaker Michael Moore. A petition opposing DeVos’ nomination was ranked most “popular” Wednesday on change.org, and it had hundreds of thousands of signatures.

Still, DeVos maintains a high level of support among Republicans, and she’s expected to be confirmed by the Senate.

DeVos faces tough questions during confirmation hearing Betsy DeVos faces tough questions during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

When asked about the call volume, a spokeswoman for Sen. Tim Scott, a GOP ally of DeVos who introduced her at her confirmation hearing, acknowledged there’s been an uptick in calls to the office but said that many callers are not residents of South Carolina.

“Senator Scott wants to hear from every one of his constituents, and out-of-state callers are doing a disservice to our folks who are trying to reach the office,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “As we have already publicly stated, Senator Scott fully supports Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos and thinks she is a visionary leader who is committed to ensuring every student in our country has access to a quality education.”

A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said the senator has received a high volume of calls related to the multiple nominees, but the distribution is fairly even. Flake said he plans to back DeVos.

“Betsy DeVos believes that every child should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, regardless of their zip code. I look forward to supporting her nomination,” Flake said in a statement released Wednesday.

A spokesman for HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander said only that he receives “many” calls, emails and letters from Tennesseans and takes the input seriously.

Several Republican offices approached for comment about calls related to DeVos’ nomination did not respond.