Watch: Elizabeth Warren Urges Senate To Vote Down Betsy DeVos

The Senate met Monday to continue debating Betsy DeVos' nomination for secretary of Education, deciding to vote officially on her confirmation Tuesday. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, spoke at length against the nominee.

While nearly all other nominees thus far were virtually guaranteed a Cabinet seat by the time they faced the Senate, DeVos appears to have no support from Democrats and is already down two Republican votes. This puts her in the precarious position of relying on Vice President Mike Pence to break a potential 50-50 vote.

If one more Republican joins the ranks of the dissenters, DeVos will be out of a job.

"The people of Massachusetts cannot afford Betsy DeVos," Warren said.

• Watch Warren's full speech below

If DeVos requires the vice president's tie-breaking vote, it would be essentially unprecedented in modern times for a Cabinet member's confirmation, especially with the president's party in control of the Senate.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader from New York, said DeVos was the "least qualified nominee in a historically unqualified cabinet."

Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, spoke at the meeting, expressing her concerns about the nominee and the future of public education. "Opposition to Betsy DeVos has caught fire across the country," she said.

"The nomination... really hits home," she said. "It is a slap in the face."

Multiple senators reported that they received more calls about DeVos than any other Cabinet nominee.

"I assume that the rush to complete this nomination has something to do with the fact that Republican's phones have been ringing off the hook from citizens who are outraged by the idea of this nomination," Warren said.

Sen. Tim Scott praised the nominee on Greenville Online, despite noting that his office received "quite a few calls" about her.

"While some attack Mrs. DeVos for spending millions on education initiatives, I praise her for those efforts," Scott wrote. "She has made it her life’s mission to help students in underperforming schools have a better educational future, and has more than 30 years of education experience. She recognizes that we have been fighting to fix our public schools for more than 50 years, and that new innovations are necessary for our students."

DeVos has faced criticism on multiple fronts, including her lack of a background in public education and her advocacy for school vouchers. Some critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, have taken issue with her standing as a major Republican party donor from a wealthy family.

But DeVos hurt her own chances after a shaky confirmation hearing, during which she seemed to misunderstand a central debate in education policy, implied the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act was not a federal law and posited that some schools needed guns to fend off grizzly bears.

"I believe she is unprepared and unqualified for the position," said Eli Broad, a charter school advocate, in a letter to congressional leaders.

Others, including the founder of Success Academy Charter Schools Eva Moskowitz, have defended DeVos.

"She has been a strong supporter of parent choice as the most effective way to improve opportunities for children trapped in decades-old failing schools," Moskowitz said in a New York Post editorial.

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