Vice President Mike Pence breaks Senate deadlock to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary


The Senate voted 51-50 to confirm President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, on Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to break a 50-50 deadlock that occurred after Democrats voted along party lines, joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).
Pence's vote was the first time in U.S. history a vice president has ever been called on to tip a Cabinet confirmation vote. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called DeVos the "least qualified nominee in a historically unqualified Cabinet." Republicans have called the billionaire school-voucher proponent the kind of reformer the education system needs.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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