FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski decided to advance President Donald Trump’s selection for education secretary to a full Senate vote, but she warned her support for the confirmation of the nominee is not guaranteed.
Murkowski and 11 other Republicans of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted Tuesday to refer Betsy DeVos’ nomination to the full chamber. The committee’s 11 Democrats all opposed the action, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported (https://bit.ly/2jTTUA5).
Murkowski said her vote did not come without concerns about DeVos, who is an advocate for school choice, charter schools and school voucher programs.
“And I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved in one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers, that she may be unaware of what is broken in our public schools or how to fix it,” Murkowski said.
The Alaska senator called on the nominee to prove that she understands “children of all America, of rural of urban, who are not able to access an alternative choice in education.”
Trump has called DeVos “a brilliant and passionate education advocate.” Other supporters say DeVos has spent much of her time and wealth on helping low-income children obtain a better education.
Murkowski said in a statement released by her office Tuesday that she voted to advance the nomination “because I have long held the belief that a president has the right to name their Cabinet and that the full Senate should have the opportunity to vote on those nominees.”
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, https://www.newsminer.com
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