Betsy DeVos

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2016, file photo, Betsy DeVos, selected for Education Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Democratic senators on Dec. 14, called DeVos to ensure that a political action committee she controlled pays $5.3 million in fines and penalties owed for campaign finance violations in Ohio eight years ago. DeVosaEU All Children Matter PAC broke Ohio election law by funneling $870,000 in contributions from its nationwide PAC to its Ohio affiliate in 2008. The state of Ohio later fined the group $5 million, but the fine has not yet been paid. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

(Paul Sancya)

Five U.S. senators are demanding prospective Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos pay up for campaign finance fines owed by a group she used to chair, but her spokesperson has dismissed the request as a politically-motivated attack.

On Dec. 12, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico; Jeffery Merkley, D-Oregon; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts; and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, sent President-elect Donald Trump's designated choice for Education Secretary a letter asking her to pay $5.3 million in fines and late fees attributed to All Children Matter, a political action committee she used to chair.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Ohio Elections Commission unanimously ruled that All Children Matter violated state law in 2006 by directing $870,000 in contributions from its federally-registered PAC in Virginia to its Ohio affiliate, a decision subsequently upheld by Ohio courts.

The Ohio PAC donated legislative and statewide candidates who supported school choice and tax-paid vouchers for private schools that year, the Dispatch reported.

All Children Matter was originally founded by DeVos' husband, former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos.

In the letter to DeVos, the senators called the PAC's actions and subsequent failure to pay the fines "deeply troubling," and asked DeVos to take necessary steps to ensure the fines are paid before her confirmation hearing for the Education Secretary post.

DeVos spokesperson Ed Patru said DeVos was never a party to the suit and therefore shouldn't be held liable for the fine. He also cited a trial court judge ruling that held none of the officers or board members of the organization could be held liable for the judgement.

"This suit was a politically driven effort to derail education reform in Ohio," Patru said. "I think anyone looking at today's developments understands it's a transparently political maneuver that doesn't in any way change the underlying facts of this case."

A West Michigan native, DeVos has long been an advocate for school choice and charter schools, both in Michigan and nationally. She was also active in politics, chairing the state Republican party for several years and also serving as the Republican National Committeewoman for Michigan.

Trump announced his intentions to nominate DeVos for the nation's top education post in November. Before she can take the offer, DeVos must be formally confirmed by the U.S. Senate.