DeVos confirmed as U.S. education secretary as Pence breaks tie

[webfact]

DeVos confirmed as U.S. education secretary as Pence breaks tie

By Richard Cowan

REUTERS

 

Betsy DeVos testifies before the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee confirmation hearing to be next Secretary of Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's choice of billionaire Betsy DeVos to be education secretary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, but only after Vice President Mike Pence was called in to break a tie that threatened to defeat her.

 

The tie-breaking vote, which Senate officials said was unprecedented to confirm a Cabinet nominee, followed an all-night debate on DeVos as Senate Democrats tried to pressure at least one more Republican to oppose her and defeat the nomination.

 

Only two Republicans joined the 46 Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. Critics have called her unprepared to lead the Department of Education after a rocky Senate confirmation hearing.

 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer immediately derided the proceeding.

 

"This cabinet nom is so unqualified, so divisive, that @MikePenceVP had to drive down Pennsylvania Ave to cast the deciding vote," he wrote in a Twitter post after the vote.

 

Under the U.S. Constitution, the vice president also serves as president of the Senate, with the power to cast votes only when there are ties on nominations or legislation.

 

Republican Trump tweeted his congratulations to the nominee and Pence praised her. "Today’s vote to confirm Education Secretary @BetsyDeVos was a vote for every child having a chance at a world-class education," the vice president wrote in a Twitter post.

 

Ultimately, only Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined the Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. That left 50 Republicans supporting her in the 100-member chamber.

 

Historically, Cabinet nominees with weak support in the Senate ask the president to withdraw their nomination, which DeVos did not do.

 

DeVos is married to the heir and former chief executive of Amway, which sells household and personal care items. She is also the daughter of the founders of Prince Corp, a Michigan car parts supplier, and sister of Erik Prince, the founder of the security company formerly known as Blackwater USA, now called Academi.

 

As Monday night's debate wound down, Schumer said of DeVos: "She disdains public education where 90 percent of our students are."

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging her confirmation, said it was time to "end the unprecedented delay by Democrats" on the Cabinet nominations by Trump, who took office on Jan. 20.

 

DeVos has been an advocate of charter schools, which operate independently of school districts and frequently are run by corporations. Democrats are concerned she will promote charter schools in a way that would undercut public schools, which have long been the anchor of the U.S. education system.

 

Teachers unions, a major constituency for the Democratic Party, roundly opposed DeVos, a philanthropist and investor, to lead the department, which sets education policy for younger children and universities and also administers a college financial aid programme of $1 trillion.

 

The Consumer Federation of America urged DeVos to confront the problem of millions of Americans in default on student loans. "The new secretary needs to put borrowers and taxpayers first, rather than focussing on helping the student loan and for-profit college industries pump up their profits,” it said.

 

Following the cliffhanger vote on DeVos, the Senate promptly limited debate on Trump's choice of Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. A final vote on Sessions' nomination is expected sometime this week.

 

Also up for Senate debate soon are Trump's nominations of Representative Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services and ex-banker Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary.

 

All three face opposition from Senate Democrats.

 

Also facing a rough ride is Trump's choice of Andrew Puzder to be secretary of labour. Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, has admitted to employing an undocumented immigrant as a house cleaner.

 

(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, Sarah Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-08

[Scott]

The US will soon be neck in neck with Thailand in the race to the bottom in education.  

[craigt3365]

Quote

The tie-breaking vote, which Senate officials said was unprecedented to confirm a Cabinet nominee, followed an all-night debate on DeVos as Senate Democrats tried to pressure at least one more Republican to oppose her and defeat the nomination.

 

Only two Republicans joined the 46 Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. Critics have called her unprepared to lead the Department of Education after a rocky Senate confirmation hearing.

Too bad they didn't get one more Republican to block this.  I love this SNL skit.  Too funny.

 

 

[mamypoko]

Draining the swamp and thus filling it with shit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Republican Party

[gabruce]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

The US will soon be neck in neck with Thailand in the race to the bottom in education.  

There are also people who believe, sincerely I think, that this is a step towards better quality education i the USA, especially among the disadvantaged (ie minorities, inner cities). Hopefully the end result is improvement.

[Emster23]

" DeVos is married to the heir and former chief executive of Amway" A pyramid scheme. Which fits with Trump philosophy: take care of those at the top, let the rest dream about it and sacrifice themselves.

 The hearings on her nomination clearly showed she is clueless about education. She couldn't answer questions about material taught in first term "intro to education" class. Money talks. Republicans goal is benefits for private schools, secular but more likely, religious Madrasas, and let the dregs overload public schools.

[kamahele]

A sad day for America or should I say another sad day for America.

[rijb]

7 hours ago, Scott said:

The US will soon be neck in neck with Thailand in the race to the bottom in education.  

I don't see the correlation.  Thailand is on the bottom because of greed, corruption and apathy.

 

Devos is about school choice, school vouchers, charter schools, and an easy-to-understand grading system.

 

You're making a silly prediction.

[Rhys]

... The US Education system... many come, many do not graduate... but they still come.. with all the issues of the US education, it is still desirable by many.. The choice, for the Top Educator is always a political appointment....thus Thailand and DEVOS are equal.

 

[rijb]

2 minutes ago, Rhys said:

... The US Education system... many come, many do not graduate... but they still come.. with all the issues of the US education, it is still desirable by many.. The choice, for the Top Educator is always a political appointment....thus Thailand and DEVOS are equal.

 

Who is the 'Top Educator' of Thailand?  And how are they equal, besides being political appointees?

[Rhys]

The current MOE dude in charge...   created Thailand's ICU schools...  He was not known for his educational expertise, like DEvos...   The CEFR champion for English based on a European model.

[rijb]

8 minutes ago, Rhys said:

The current MOE dude in charge...   created Thailand's ICU schools...  He was not known for his educational expertise, like DEvos...   The CEFR champion for English based on a European model.

 

I think the lefties are more concerned with her agenda, than her expertise.  But, what the hell do they have to brag about?  

[Rhys]

Well in Thailand, what is it now for the MOE Director... 18th and counting...

[Grouse]

Deplorable,

 

If there's one thing the USA needs is better primary and secondary education. Education is key to everything.

 

They should have hired someone from Finland

[rijb]

5 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Deplorable,

 

If there's one thing the USA needs is better primary and secondary education. Education is key to everything.

 

They should have hired someone from Finland

Your first point is obvious.  Your second point is apples and oranges.

 

------------------

 

Finland has 5.3 million people; the United States has 318 million.

 

Three languages are spoken in Finland; the U.S. has more than 300, with almost 17 million people speaking a language other than English in the home.

 

U.S. data also indicated that when only U.S. schools with poverty rates of 10 percent or less were counted, U.S. scores were the best in the world.

 

http://www.startribune.com/finland-not-an-apt-educational-model-for-u-s-schools/266823501/

[Silurian]

I don't think clueless Devos has any idea about the separation of church and state. She is most definitely for indoctrinating "Christian" values into the school system.

 

Education secretary Betsy DeVos wants to 'advance God's kingdom' through US school system

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/betsy-devos-us-education-secretary-advance-gods-kingdom-donald-trump-pick-confirmed-senate-hearing-a7568641.html

 

 

[Grouse]

1 minute ago, rijb said:

Your first point is obvious.  Your second point is apples and oranges.

 

------------------

 

Finland has 5.3 million people; the United States has 318 million.

 

Three languages are spoken in Finland; the U.S. has more than 300, with almost 17 million people speaking a language other than English in the home.

 

U.S. data also indicated that when only U.S. schools with poverty rates of 10 percent or less were counted, U.S. scores were the best in the world.

 

http://www.startribune.com/finland-not-an-apt-educational-model-for-u-s-schools/266823501/

You've answered it yourself then. Do something about the obscene inequality in the USA. 

 

They have some some excellent ideas in Finland though. Look into it! Did you see Michael Moore's recent documentary? You should...

[rijb]

6 minutes ago, Silurian said:

I don't think clueless Devos has any idea about the separation of church and state. She is most definitely for indoctrinating "Christian" values into the school system.

 

Education secretary Betsy DeVos wants to 'advance God's kingdom' through US school system

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/betsy-devos-us-education-secretary-advance-gods-kingdom-donald-trump-pick-confirmed-senate-hearing-a7568641.html

 

 

That is up to the Supreme Court, not her.

[Chicog]

Goes to show how easy it is to purchase a Cabinet seat.

President Bannon must be very pleased.

 

 

[rijb]

5 minutes ago, Grouse said:

You've answered it yourself then. Do something about the obscene inequality in the USA. 

 

They have some some excellent ideas in Finland though. Look into it! Did you see Michael Moore's recent documentary? You should...

I didn't answer anything.  Didn't know there was a question.  

 

Do you expect Devos to solve the inequality problem?

 

Moore's answer to everything is a documentary.  He doesn't do anything, except get rich.

[rijb]

1 minute ago, Chicog said:

Goes to show how easy it is to purchase a Cabinet seat.

President Bannon must be very pleased.

 

 

 

Cheaper than a President's seat.

[Grouse]

11 hours ago, rijb said:

I didn't answer anything.  Didn't know there was a question.  

 

Do you expect Devos to solve the inequality problem?

 

Moore's answer to everything is a documentary.  He doesn't do anything, except get rich.

You made the point that where poverty is not a significant issue, schools perform well. So, make sure poverty is not a significant issue! You're the richest country in the world for God's sake.

 

Why not just watch the documentary recommended. The section on Finland focuses on how they made changes to great effect. Their kids seem to end up multilingual. Not a trait Americans are noted for. The section on France focussed on the importance of nutritious school lunches. It's worth a look I promise you.

 

I think Devos is yet another disaster. I think the woman has no idea. She should keep evangelical clap trap out of the class room for starters

[rijb]

2 minutes ago, Grouse said:

You made the point that where poverty is not a significant issue, schools perform well. So, make sure poverty is not a significant issue! You're the richest country in the world for God's sake.

 

Why not just watch the documentary recommended. The section on Finland focuses on how they made changes to great effect. Their kids seem to end up multilingual. Not a trait Americans are noted for. The section on France focussed on the importance of nutritious school lunches. It's worth a look I promise you.

 

I think Devos is yet another disaster. I think the woman has no idea. She should keep evangelical clap trap out of the class room for starters

I've seen the documentary.  Finland is impressive.

 

I hope you're wrong about Devos.

[geriatrickid]

[Skeptic7]

23 hours ago, gabruce said:

There are also people who believe, sincerely I think, that this is a step towards better quality education i the USA, especially among the disadvantaged (ie minorities, inner cities). Hopefully the end result is improvement.

It won't. Devos isn't interested in education, unless it is ridiculous Biblical mythology and anti-science god crap.

 

Another brick forced out of the wall of separation between government and superstition. She is also intent on diverting public tax dollars to private Christian schools, which is unconstitutional. Trump and his band of silly superstitious idiots are intent on destroying the secular government of the USA and creating a Christian Theocracy. 

 

Scary, stupid, superstitious and sickening. 

[uptheos]

Good to see all Trumps nominations getting through, even a few dems threw their hat in the ring for Sessions.

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, uptheos said:

Good to see all Trumps nominations getting through, even a few dems threw their hat in the ring for Sessions.

If you mean 'one' with 'a few' you're correct.

[uptheos]

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

If you mean 'one' with 'a few' you're correct.

Correct, But seeing the light starts slowly

[Grouse]

35 minutes ago, uptheos said:

Good to see all Trumps nominations getting through, even a few dems threw their hat in the ring for Sessions.

Did any African American Senators vote for him I wonder? 

[uptheos]

6 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Did any African American Senators vote for him I wonder? 

Doubt it, but they've got him anyway