The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary, approving the beleaguered nominee “with the help of a historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence,” reports The New York Times:
It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian. Taking the gavel as the vote deadlocked at 50-50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, declared his vote for Ms. DeVos before announcing that Mr. Trump’s nominee for education secretary had been confirmed.
Here are some of the best Twitter reactions to the confirmation of DeVos, who as The Times notes, “has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system.” NJ Senator Cory Booker pointed out that DeVos “did not attend public schools herself, did not send her children to public schools and has never taught in a public school”.
At the Congressional hearings on her confirmation, it was also pointed out that neither she nor her children had ever applied for a Pell grant or student loan. As Secretary of Education she will be administering these and many other education programs that she knows little about.
Critics protested the nomination because daughter-in-law of Amway cofounder Richard DeVos—who Forbes estimates is worth $5.1 billion––has had little-to-no involvement in the nation’s public schools. In the past several election cycles her family gave $200 million in campaign contributions to Republican Senate members, including four Senators who served on the committee that confirmed her.