Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire with no education experience who’s been tapped by the Trump administration to run the Department of Education, will have exactly zero Democrats backing her in her upcoming confirmation vote. Leading the attack is Al Franken, the comedian turned Democratic senator from Minnesota, who has been vocal about DeVos’ evident incompetence:
“She is an ideologue who knows next to nothing about education policy as … she demonstrated really in her confirmation hearing.”
That confirmation hearing was a shining moment for Franken, who ran DeVos through the ringer and made C-SPAN worth watching.
Nevertheless, Republicans own a majority in the Senate, and don’t need any Democrats to side with them for DeVos to get appointed Secretary of Education. With 52 seats compared to the Democrats’ 46, Republicans only have to hold party lines for DeVos to pass through.
While Republicans have long had a history of voting in a party bloc, a flurry of grassroots activity has sprung up in an attempt to prevent that from happening.
Social media has been flooded with people urging friends and family in targeted states to call their Republican senators and demand a “no” vote on DeVos. Only three Republicans need to be flipped.
After such a disastrous confirmation hearing, the taint on DeVos’ reputation might be enough for even hard-line Republicans to pull their support. The movement has focused on the following senators, whose office phone numbers are:
Maine’s Susan Collins – (207) 622-8414 and (202) 224-2523
Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander – (615) 736-5129 and (202) 224-4944
Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski – (907) 586-7277 and (202) 224-6665
Georgia’s Johnny Isakson – (770) 661-0999 and (202) 224-3643
Utah’s Orrin Hatch – (801) 524-4380 and (202) 224-5251
North Carolina’s Richard Burr – (336) 631-5125, (202) 224-3154, (910) 251-1058, and (828) 350-2437
Wyoming’s Michael Enzi – (202) 224-3424
Louisiana’s Dr. Bill Cassidy – (202) 224-5824
Kansas’ Pat Roberts – (202) 224-4774
South Carolina’s Tim Scott – (202) 224-6121
Kentucky’s Rand Paul – (202) 224-4343
Many of these senators are up for reelection soon, making them especially prone to a prod in the right direction with a quick phone call before DeVos’ confirmation vote on January 31, at 10 a.m. EST.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMRX_21Le6I
Featured Image Via C-SPAN Screengrab.
