Betsy DeVos' Cabinet Chances Threatened By 2 Republican Senators

Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Wednesday that they will vote against confirming Betsy DeVos, President Trump's pick to be secretary of Education.

Both officials voted to approve DeVos in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions — but it's the vote in front of the full Senate that really matters.

With all Democrats opposed to the nomination, along with the two independent senators who caucus with the Democrats, Collins and Murkowski's defections put DeVos' chances of confirmation on a razor's edge.

Assuming all other Republicans in the Senate vote in favor of the nominee, the confirmation tally will split 50 to 50. That places the deciding vote with Vice President Mike Pence, who would almost certainly break the tie in DeVos' favor.

Only nine presidential nominees have been prevented by the Senate from serving in the Cabinet in U.S. history.

"I come to the floor to announce a very difficult decision that I have made, and that is to vote against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos to be our nation's next secretary of Education," said Collins on the floor of the Senate.

She said the nominee's lack of experience with public schools would make it difficult for her to identify with the challenges educators face, particularly in rural areas such as Maine.

Murkowski made similar statements following Collins, noting that she heard from thousands of her Alaskan constituents expressing concerns about DeVos. But she also called her dissenting vote a "personal" decision.

"I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of Education," she said, "who has been so immersed in the discussion of vouchers."

Provision of school vouchers, which provide families with funds to send their children to private or charter schools if they choose not to attend their district school, is a very controversial policy in education debates — and one that DeVos strongly supports.

If any other Republican senators join Collins and Murkowski, DeVos' appointment will be doomed. According to The Hill, Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginian Democrat most likely to side with the administration given his right-leaning constituency, has already said he won't back the nominee.

In his daily press briefing, Sean Spicer said he was "100 percent confident" that DeVos would be confirmed and that she is an "unbelievably qualified educator and advocate." Critics pointed out that DeVos has never formally taken on a role as an educator.

"The games that are being played with Betsy DeVos are sad," Spicer added.

How likely is it that DeVos will be voted down? It's not clear just yet. Generally, presidents can count on their party members to support their nominees — but with two Republicans voting no, other might be emboldened to join them.

According to the Washington Post, the last time a nominee was voted down when the President's party had a majority in the Senate was in 1925 under Calvin Coolidge.

Diane Ravitch, a liberal critic of school reforms and particularly of vouchers, suggested that Republican Senators Lamar Alexander, Shelley Moore, Deb Fischer, Dean Heller and Jerry Moran may be Democrats best chance to block DeVos, given their histories of opposing some conservative education policies.

Theirs are the most pivotal votes in the fight over the Department of Education.

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