Senate Democrats Hold the Floor Against Betsy DeVos

All night, Senate Democrats have been holding the floor in protest of Betsy DeVos' nomination for Secretary of Education. If you want to check in on the proceedings, here is C-SPAN's live feed.

At Cosmo, Gina Mei reports:

In a final, last ditch effort to derail the confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee for education secretary Betsy DeVos, Democrats are currently holding the Senate floor for 24 hours and collectively speaking out in opposition to her.

The all-night session comes after immense disapproval to DeVos' nomination from citizens across the country due to her lack of education experience, disdain for public schools, and previous investments in public and charter schools. Senate Democrats hope their arguments will convince just one more Republican to cross party lines and oppose the Michigan billionaire's confirmation — alongside Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who announced they would vote against her last week.

"I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to follow the courageous example of the senators from Maine and Alaska," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, according to NBC. "We have an obligation as Senators — not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Senators — to evaluate these nominees and their fitness for office, because these nominees are going to wield immense power over the lives of Americans for possibly the next four years."

As The Washington Post goes on to point out, because all 48 Senate Democrats have pledged to oppose DeVos, all they need is one more Republican to vote against her for her not to be confirmed. If they are unable to convince any of their colleagues to change their mind, however, Vice President Mike Pence will be called upon to cast the tie-breaking vote — which he's already confirmed will be in DeVos' favor.

If you'd like to see some video clips from the all-nighter, there are a number at the link.

I am grateful to the Democrats for taking this stand, even if it is ultimately futile. But it's not futile yet! If you can, keep making calls to Republican Senators and ask them to vote no on DeVos, because she is manifestly unqualified for the position and will ruin the Department of Education and destroy public education across the country.

(Which, of course, was the entire point of her nomination.)

It will be a bitter irony if Mike Pence, who once stripped Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction of power because she was trying to save the state from the very "reforms" that DeVos wants to enact, gets the deciding vote.

I hope one more Republican will stand up on behalf of the nation's children. I fear that no one will.

But, in the meantime, I'm not giving up. I will expect more and keep making calls.

UPDATE: And DeVos has been confirmed, with Pence's unprecedented, tie-breaking vote. Fuck.