We’re just one Republican vote away from stopping Betsy DeVos from taking over the Department of Education

Today, Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced on the floor of the Senate that they would not be voting to confirm President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Assuming neither Senator changes her mind between now and the vote, which is expected to happen as early as Friday, this would result in a 50-50 vote in the Senate, which would require Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote, which he would almost certainly make in support of the anti-public education crusader, who has, over the course of the past several years, donate hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican candidates that support her aggressive attacks on America’s schools. It looks, however, as though several Republican members of the Senate, like Murkowski and Collins, may be considering the possibility of jumping ship, and casting votes against DeVos, who many see as the least qualified cabinet nominee of our generation. Unfortunately, we’ve yet to get that third and final vote we need to keep DeVos from taking over the Department of Education.

While there was talk earlier in the day that Republican Senators Heller [Nevada] and Toomey [Pennsylvania] might be susceptible to pressure from their constituents, both have since come out to say that they would be voting in support of DeVos, who has absolutely no experience in school administration, even at the most basic, local level. [Toomey, through a spokesperson, said he believes DeVos is a “great pick,” and Heller issued a statement saying that he believes, “Betsy DeVos is the right choice for this position.”] Other Republicans, however, still appear to be mulling over the decision. Among those I’ve heard are still on the fence are Moore [West Virginia], Moran [Kansas], and Fischer [Nebraska], all of whom are anti-voucher Republicans from largely rural states, where charter schools aren’t as likely to target. And, I’ve heard through the grapevine that both Sullivan [Alaska] and Flake [Arizona] are still in play as well. So, if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to activate your networks in Kansa, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Arizona and Nevada, now’s your chance. Reach out to whomever you might know in those states, and encourage them to call their Senators and urge them not to support DeVos. [For what it’s worth, I also wouldn’t give up on Heller and Toomey.]

So go to Facebook, and begin sorting through your contacts, looking for people in Kansas, West Virginia, Arizona, Alaska, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. And, once you’ve found them, ask them to call their Senators, and demand that DeVos not be confirmed this Friday, when the vote come up on the floor of the Senate. This, as I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, is critically important. We cannot allow DeVos to do to the rest of the country what she’s done to Michigan.