Despite a full night of debate, opposition, and public protest, the
Senate is poised to confirm Michigan GOP donor Betsy DeVos, President
Trump’s nominee for education secretary. Most expect the vote—scheduled
for noon Tuesday—to
pass by a narrow margin, with Vice President Mike Pence possibly
breaking a 50-50 tie. Democrats spent the night in marathon speaking
sessions in a show of opposition to DeVos, a billionaire who was
publicly ridiculed after her confirmation hearing went poorly. (Sen. Al
Franken (D-MN) called it the “most embarrassing” confirmation hearing
he’s ever attended.) “Mrs. DeVos demonstrated a complete lack of
experience in, knowledge of, and support for public education. She was
unable to address basic issues that any New Hampshire school-board
member could discuss fluently,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH). Some
protesters overnight wore grizzly bear costumes inspired by DeVos’s
comment during her hearing that some schools might need guns to defend
against bear attacks. Many constituents who were not gathered outside
the Capitol spent the evening jamming their representatives’ phone
lines. Two GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of
Maine, have announced they will oppose DeVos. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment