President Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos for education secretary cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Friday, setting up what is shaping up to be a nail-biter for the confirmation vote. At a rare early-morning session, senators voted along party lines, 52 to 48, to end debate on DeVos’s nomination. A final confirmation vote is expected early next week. On the Senate floor Friday morning, Alexander praised the nominee as an outsider who has worked for transformational change. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the HELP Committee’s ranking Democrat, followed Alexander with a long and pointed argument against confirming DeVos.

Source: Washington Post February 03, 2017 12:33 UTC