Facing a far friendlier audience than she did at the U.S. Capitol, new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos thumbed her nose at one of the Senate's top Democrat today at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

DeVos strutted onstage to cheers of 'we love you!' and gave the audience some love right back, introducing herself by name to the raucous crowd.

'You may have heard some of the wonderful things the mainstream media has called me lately,' she said. 'I, however, pride myself on being called a mother, a grandmother, a life partner of 38 years tomorrow and perhaps the first person to tell Bernie Sanders to his face that there's no such thing as a free lunch.'

DeVos was referring to her contentious Senate confirmation hearing where she went before three of the body's biggest liberal names: Sens. Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken.

DeVos also doubled down on a statement she made yesterday about the Trump administration's move to roll back bathroom protections for transgender students.

'This issue was a very huge example of the Obama administration's overreach to suggest a one-size-fits-all federal government approach, top down approach to issues that are best dealt with and solved at a personal level and a local level,' she told CNN's resident Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany.

Scroll down for video

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos got a far warmer reception at CPAC than she did on Capitol Hill and even mocked Sen. Bernie Sanders in her opening remarks

CNN's resident Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany (left) was tasked with asking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (right) questions Thursday at CPAC

MeEnany also brought up DeVos' Senate experience saying she was 'appalled by the way Sen. Warren conducted herself.'

DeVos' nomination made history for being controversial. She got zero Democratic votes and two Republican senators refused to vote for her, so Vice President Pence was forced to come to Capitol Hill and cast a tie-breaking vote.

Today a more defiant DeVos showed up at the annual conference of conservatives, where Vice President Mike Pence will grace the stage tonight and President Trump will speak tomorrow.

'My job isn't to win a popularity contest with the media of the education establishment here in Washington,' she said, telling the crowd she loved their energy.

DeVos, a Michigan-based school choice advocate and Republican fundraiser, explained simply her stance on education at the conference.

'Do you believe parents should be able to choose the best school for their child regardless of zip code or family income?' DeVos asked the crowd, who answered in the affirmative.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proclaimed from onstage that her job wasn't to 'win a popularity contest with the media of the education establishment'

Gov. Scott Walker revealed at CPAC that he had called Education Secretary Betsy DeVos after she was blocked from entering a D.C. school, as he encountered similar protests in Wisconsin

'Me too and so does President Trump,' she said. 'We have a unique window of opportunity to make school choice a reality for millions of families.'

MeEnany wasn't the only conservative vocally supporting DeVos from onstage, as the new education secretary was recently blocked from entering a D.C. school by protesters.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who faced widespread protests in Madison in 2015 over a controversial public union-killing bill, told the CPAC audience that he had called DeVos after the Washington incident.

'I called Betsy DeVos, who's a good friend of mind, and I said, "You know what? Been there, done that,"' he said.

Walker shared that the activists he faced glued the door shut to a Wisconsin school so that he couldn't go inside.

'Now, the good news is that the school was not to be deterred,' Walker recalled. 'They actually took the door off the hinges and we were able to read to the kids,' he said.