Senate Will Vote at Noon on DeVos Nomination; Protests Continued through Last Night
Stopped by Senate rules from filibustering to delay the vote on a Cabinet nominee, Senate Democrats tried the closest thing to it yesterday and throughout last night: a 24 hour marathon of speeches against Betsy Devos, right up to the moment her confirmation vote at noon today.
Here is Kimberly Hefling writing yesterday afternoon at POLITICO: “Senate Democrats will take the floor throughout the day and night Monday to voice their opposition to Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary—a Hail Mary effort to convince one more Republican to join them so that they can thwart her confirmation.”
Emma Brown of the Washington Post explains further: “DeVos’s confirmation vote is scheduled for noon Tuesday. All 48 members of the Senate Democratic caucus are expected to oppose her, along with two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Democrats need just one more Republican to flip to defeat the nomination, and they are hoping their 24 hour speech-a-thon will ratchet up the pressure.”
Brown quotes Senator Patty Murray, the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: “This nomination is dead even right now—on the razor’s edge… For the vast majority of people across the country, public education isn’t just another issue. It’s different… We believe that a commitment to strong public schools is part of America’s core. The idea that every student, in every community, should have the opportunities that strong public schools offer. This is a notion that is embedded in our values. It’s who we are. It’s in our blood.”
Anti-DeVos rallies took place over the weekend and on Monday. Here in Cleveland, Ohio, late yesterday afternoon an enthusiastic crowd of over 500 people assembled in front of Republican Senator Rob Portman’s office to protest his pledge to support the DeVos Senate Will Vote at Noon on DeVos Nomination; Protests Continued through Last Night | janresseger: