Betsy DeVos nomination clears Senate committee in tight vote

WASHINGTON — Michigan's Betsy DeVos passed her first test to become the nation's top education official by the narrowest of margins on Tuesday, but her nomination faces potential trouble on the horizon.

Despite winning a tight 12-11 strictly party-line vote in committee -- with a GOP majority -- to send her nomination to the full U.S. Senate for consideration, DeVos, President Donald Trump's pick to become secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, may have to do more to win over at least two Republican senators who indicated they are not ready to commit to her.

Even as other Republicans defended DeVos during the voting session in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee against Democratic charges that the nominee -- a controversial figure in Michigan political and education circles -- knows too little about education policy and would undermine public schools, two key GOP members signaled that their votes in the committee Tuesday did not necessarily guarantee support on the Senate floor.

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"We’ll see when she comes forward. I’ve expressed my concerns about her," said one of them, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who voted to advance DeVos' nomination but said she isn't committed to a final confirmation vote. Questions about DeVos' commitment to public schools and other issues have still yet to be answered to Murkowski's satisfaction, she said.

If Murkowski and the other Republican committee member expressing doubts, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, were to line up against DeVos in the full Senate it could put Democrats within reach of blocking her nomination, despite a Republican majority in the chamber.

A vote for final confirmation in the Senate has not yet been scheduled.

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As debate on her nomination got underway, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the committee, said the vote would occur over Democratic objections and complaints that her nomination had been rushed through.

Alexander said DeVos had answered dozens of times more questions -- some 1,400 sent her by Democrats in recent weeks -- and spent more time before the committee than any other recent nominee for education secretary. He said Democratic opposition was based on her full-throated support of alternatives to public education, even as she has said she supports public schools, too.

“I don’t think it’s fair to treat Ms. DeVos any differently than we did (former) President Obama's secretaries," said Alexander. "The objection is she supports charter schools. … The objection is she supports school choice.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., however, said that her and other Democrats' opposition to DeVos is not about school choice or charter schools that she supported in Michigan, but their belief that she has worked to drain funding from public schools to the benefit of private and for-profit schools and would do so as head of the Education Department.

Warren said there has never been an education secretary nominee "less qualified or more dangerous" than DeVos. She was widely criticized for her lack of institutional experience and for her answers at a confirmation hearing two weeks ago in which it appeared DeVos was initially unfamiliar with some federal policies, like those regarding protections for disabled students.

“Her hearing was so lacking in any knowledge at all about policy in public education,” said U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. While states and local school districts generally have primary authority for setting education policies, the Education Department plays a role in enforcing federal education laws and ensuring that schools meet standards set for receiving federal funding.

Criticism by Warren, Franken and other Democrats underscored protest rallies and other efforts trying to derail DeVos' confirmation. Educator unions have been working steadfastly against her.

"As the nomination moves to the Senate floor, every senator has a unique opportunity to put students before all else. ... Will senators stand with our students and the public education system that educates nine out of every 10 students, or will they ignore the growing chorus of bipartisan voices urging them to vote no on the controversial pick?" asked Lily Eskelsen García, president of the 3-million-member National Education Association.

The NEA and other groups have argued that DeVos has a history of undermining public school efforts in Michigan, and that she and her husband -- Amway heir and former head Dick DeVos -- have used their wealth to shield charter schools from more accountability despite what they say are middling results.

DeVos has said publicly during her confirmation hearing that she is committed to helping public schools thrive -- along with alternatives that parents want and that she maintains, along with others, has resulted in a better education for many students, including those in Detroit. She also vowed to enforce federal laws though she has also said states should maintain primary responsibility for policy.

DeVos' supporters say not only has she answered most if not all of the questions put to her, she also has proven her commitment to children.

"The real debate isn’t Betsy DeVos," said U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. "It's a generation of kids who are caught in under-performing schools."

"Let's give her a little bit of credit. She lives in a state where she saw somebody needed to take action and she tried," said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., referring to DeVos' long -- and often controversial -- backing of school choice and vouchers in Michigan, where she is a two-time chair of the state Republican Party and a significant financial backer of conservative policies, groups and politicians.

Her Republican support wan't unqualified, however, with suggestions that she could face a floor fight in the full Senate, where Republicans have a slim two-seat edge over Democrats and their allies.

Collins, a key Republican moderate on the committee, voted for the nomination in committee, saying "Presidents are entitled to considerable deference in terms of Cabinet members regardless of which party is in power." But she did not guarantee her vote in the full Senate, wanting to look further into DeVos' commitment to enforce laws protecting disabled students and other policies.

Collins added, however, that she also was comforted to hear that DeVos would not push any effort to force the states to adopt school vouchers or choice.

Meanwhile, Murkowski voiced her deep-seated concerns about DeVos due to questions about her support of public schools seen as vitally important across her far-flung home state and policies for disabled students and others. She said DeVos still "must prove she will work to help the struggling public schools that strive to educate our children."

Murkowski, too, gave Trump deference in voting his nominee out of committee while making no such commitment to how she would vote when the nomination comes before the full Senate.

"I would advise she not yet count on my vote," said Murkowski. When asked by the Free Press after the hearing if she would support DeVos in the full Senate if the vote were held today, she said, "I’m not going to engage in a hypothetical."

If Collins and Murkowski could be convinced to vote against DeVos, it could mean a 50-50 tie in the Senate. Vice President Mike Pence, as Senate president, would almost certainly cast the deciding for DeVos in that case. But Republicans will want to avoid her nomination -- or any other -- coming down to a single vote if possible. Democrats will look for other Republicans to pick off as well.

A new controversy dogged DeVos as her confirmation moved on, with the Washington Post and other media outlets suggesting that a statement she apparently used in an answer to questions asked her by Democrats -- that “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow” -- was virtually the same as that used in a past statement by someone in a Justice Department press release.

The sentiment, however, is one repeatedly regularly in bureaucratic and political circles and the language hardly seems proprietary, making a claim of plagiarism hard to justify.

“This is character assassination," said Rob Goad, a White House education adviser. "The secretary-designate has long been referencing the need for safe and supportive learning environments, free of discrimination, for all students, so that they can learn, achieve, thrive, grow, and lead successful productive lives. To level an accusation against her about these words included in responses to nearly 1,400 questions ... is simply a desperate attempt to discredit Betsy DeVos."

“Betsy DeVos is a true champion of students and parents, and she deserves confirmation by the full Senate. This is a great step toward that," tweeted former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a friend and supporter.

Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy, a group of charter schools in New York City, said she supported DeVos' nomination despite being a Democrat.

"Our children's education should be a bipartisan issue. ... Betsy will be a tireless advocate for America’s school children. She recognizes the importance of parent choice and will work with governors and local leaders to ensure that all children have access to better schools."

In arguing against DeVos' nomination, Democrats also said they still have deep concerns about DeVos' financial entanglements, despite her reaching an agreement suitable to the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics to divest herself of more than 100 investments.

"This nominee is different and there are very good reasons why she has become so controversial," said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the committee. "This nominee is being jammed through with corners being cut." She also said that Democrats haven't been given time to ask follow-up questions and that some of her responses may be inadequate.

Murray and other Democrats said that DeVos' experience in Michigan has not been nearly enough to support her taking over the agency and criticized her for not coming out firmly against prohibiting guns in schools or insisting for more accountability from charter schools or those receiving vouchers. "I have not been persuaded that Betsy DeVos will put students first if she is confirmed," said Murray.

As to those who complained that DeVos' experience is too far out of the mainstream, Alexander said, "Does anyone really expect President Trump to appoint someone from inside the education establishment?"

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.