Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerDemocrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise Pelosi, Schumer 'encouraged' by Trump call for bigger coronavirus relief package Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE (D-N.Y.) is making an 11th-hour appeal to Republicans, urging them to reject Betsy DeVos's nomination to lead the Department of Education.

"We need just one more vote, and we can get a lot better secretary of Education than the one who was nominated," Schumer said from the Senate floor on Monday.

A final vote on DeVos is expected on Tuesday with Democrats pledging to pull an all-nighter late Monday to protest her nomination.

Schumer said that Republicans should "look into their conscience and cast their votes not based on party loyalty, but based on whether or not Ms. DeVos is qualified to be our nation's leader on education policy."

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Schumer praised the two GOP senators, calling them "courageous" for becoming the first Republican lawmakers to buck a President Trump Cabinet pick.

Unless Democrats can peel off a third Republican senator, Vice President Pence is expected to break a 50-50 tie to confirm DeVos. It would mark the first time a vice president has cast the deciding vote on a nomination.

DeVos, a GOP mega-donor, has been the subject of fierce opposition from teachers unions and other liberal groups over her support for charter schools and tuition vouchers using public funds.

Schumer blasted DeVos on Monday, calling her the "least qualified" of Trump's Cabinet picks.