{"id":21641,"date":"2017-02-08T09:27:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T09:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=21641"},"modified":"2017-02-08T09:28:19","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T09:28:19","slug":"education-nominee-betsy-devos-wins-senate-confirmation-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/dna\/education-nominee-betsy-devos-wins-senate-confirmation-vote.html","title":{"rendered":"Education nominee Betsy DeVos wins Senate confirmation vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEducation nominee Betsy DeVos wins Senate confirmation vote<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/h2>\n

\n\tEducation nominee Betsy DeVos wins Senate confirmation vote:- US Vice-President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to secure her cabinet role, splitting the chamber 50-50.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was the first time ever that a vice-president has interceded in such a way for a cabinet secretary.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMrs DeVos, a billionaire who has no experience with public schools, faced a rocky confirmation hearing last month.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMoments after voting ended, she tweeted: "I appreciate the Senate's diligence & am honored to serve as @usedgov Secretary.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"Let's improve options & outcomes for all US students."<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSenate Democrats staged a 24-hour debate into Tuesday to hold up her confirmation.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy is DeVos so unpopular?<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe people around Donald Trump<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThey hoped their all-night speaking marathon would pressure more Republican senators to oppose the nomination, but their efforts were in vain.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMr Pence later swore in Mrs DeVos as education secretary.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe was also the first vice-president to cast a deciding vote in the Senate since 2008, when Dick Cheney voted on a tax adjustment plan.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNo Democrats voted in favour of Mrs DeVos. Two Republican senators stood by their plan to oppose her confirmation, leaving the Senate in a deadlock.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalysis – Anthony Zurcher, BBC News North America Reporter<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the end Donald Trump is going to get the team he wants.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBetsy DeVos's education secretary nomination looked a bit shaky for a while, but no Republican senator was willing to be the third "no" vote that would have sunk her.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSecretary of State Rex Tillerson's ties to Russia made some conservatives uneasy, and prompted sharp questioning from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, but the former oil magnate's party closed ranks behind him.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe only real question mark left is labour secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, whose confirmation hearings have been postponed four times amid reports that he has not fully disentangled himself from his sprawling fast-food business empire.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf he withdraws, however, it will be quietly, before a confrontation with Democrats heats up.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDemocrats always faced an uphill battle in bringing down any of Mr Trump's cabinet nominees, given the mathematical reality of being in the Senate minority.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRepublicans were loath to deal an early, embarrassing setback to the new president, possibly earning his long-term enmity.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fight over Mrs DeVos and other nominees has engaged the Democratic base, however.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNow the question is whether they will stay engaged in the months and years ahead – or if this initial surge of activism will recede over time<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tCritics say Mrs DeVos is unqualified to run the Department of Education.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tShe faced intense scrutiny before a Senate committee in January, when she made headlines for noting that a Wyoming school might need a gun to defend against grizzly bears.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLabour unions, rights groups and teaching organisations have also spoken out against her nomination.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGroups including the American Federation of Teachers and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights held protests against Mrs DeVos outside of Congress on Monday evening.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 59-year-old is a wealthy Republican Party donor and a former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman who has long campaigned for education reform in the state.
\n\tShe is a champion of charter schools, which are publicly funded but operate outside state school systems.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHer husband Dick DeVos was a chief executive of the beauty and nutrition giant Amway and her brother is Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private security company Blackwater.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tShe is among several of Mr Trump's cabinet picks whom Democrats have been trying to block from being approved.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDemocrats said in January they would target eight of Mr Trump's nominees based on their lack of qualifications and policy positions.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore Mrs DeVos' approval, just six of Mr Trump's cabinet picks had been confirmed, compared with former President Barack Obama's 12 cabinet secretaries at this point in 2009 and 16 of George W Bush's in 2001, according to the Washington Post.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe slowed process is also partly due to the fact that some of Mr Trump's picks have not completed a lengthy vetting process typically required of Cabinet candidates, which helps identify potential conflicts of interest.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHundreds of staff positions also remain vacant as the fate of 15 of Trump administration's nominees hangs in the balance.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:- http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-38897507<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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