Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Confirmation: Democrats Seek 2nd Hearing (Updated)

(Updated) WASHINGTON, DC — Several top Democrats have asked for a second hearing for Betsy DeVos, picked by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Education, writing in a letter they were “extremely disappointed” in last week’s committee hearings held in advance of a confirmation vote before the full Senate, now scheduled for Jan. 31.

In the letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander, who heads the the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 10 Democrats and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote:

“Education is too important an issue, and the Secretary of Education is too important a position for the country and for this Committee, to jam a nominee through without sufficient questioning and scrutiny. This is not about politics, it should not be about partisanship — it should be about doing the work we were elected by our states to do to ask questions of nominees on behalf of the people we represent.”

An aide to Alexander said the second hearings aren’t necessary and that DeVos already has been questioned longer than either of former President Barack Obama’s education secretary nominees — Arne Duncan and John King — according to a tweet from Frank Thorp, an NBC News correspondent.

DeVos’ confirmation vote had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was put off a week to give members of the panel time to read DeVos’ ethics statement.

Alexander hadn’t been expected to approve a second hearing. In a statement last week, he said:

“Saying there was not enough time to ask questions is absolute nonsense. Betsy DeVos’s hearing on Tuesday was three and a half hours, about an hour and a half longer than either of the hearings for President Obama’s two education secretaries. The Democrats are making up excuses because they can’t find better reasons to oppose the nominees.”

In an advisory announcing the confirmation vote delay Friday, the committee said:

“The committee has received Betsy DeVos’s paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics. She has completed the committee’s paperwork, answered questions for 3 ½ hours at her confirmation hearing, met privately with the members of the committee, and she will now spend the coming days answering senators’ written questions for the record.”

In their argument for a second hearing, the Democrats said they need more time to look into DeVos’ potential conflicts of interest, as well as grill her more on her preparedness to lead the Department of Education. Besides Sanders, those signing it included Sen. Patty Warren of Washington, the ranking Democrat, and Sens. Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, Al Franken of Minnesota, Michael F. Bennet of Colorado, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island,Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Christopher F. Murphy of Connecticut, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Margaret Wood Hassan of New Hampshire.

See Also

• Betsy DeVos Ethics Statement: Education Secretary Pick's Financial Holdings
• Betsy DeVos Is OK With Guns In Schools To Protect From 'Potential Grizzlies'
• Betsy DeVos Won't Get Michigan Senator's Vote for Education Secretary

Social media users had sport with DeVos after she suggested a Wyoming school that put out a fence to keep away dangerous wildlife might had a gun on school property to protect against “potential grizzlies” when asked about gun policies in schools.

Far more concerning to committee members in the Jan. 17 hearing was her statement that states should be able to decide whether to enforce federal civil rights laws that guarantee equal education rights for children with disabilities. Also of concern was what Democrats called a lack of understanding about education policies. For example, DeVos stumbled when Franken asked her whether she favored education policy based on growth or proficiency, as measured by standardized tests. Franken suggested her response demonstrated she does not have the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to be education secretary.

“We would like to ask Ms. DeVos additional questions we were prevented from asking this week given we did not know all of the financial and ethical information that has now been shared with us, as well as address additional questions that have arisen from the OGE paperwork,” the Democrats wrote in the letter. “In particular, we believe it is important to ask her questions around companies she will continue to own that are directly impacted by the Department of Education and this administration’s education agenda. We believe the opportunity to ask such questions is consistent with the responsibilities and practices of this committee.”

In the Jan. 19 ethics statement, DeVos said she would resign her directorship with the family’s private investment and management fund, RDV Corporation and its subsidiaries, but would not divest her holdings. The entity’s financing deals include online charter schools, The Washington Post reported.

In all, DeVos said she would divest her assets in 102 funds, accounts or limited liability corporations; has resigned from positions or has no financial interests in another dozen; and has resigned from positions for eight, but retains a financial interest.

Among the limited liability corporations DeVos is stepping away from is the LMF WF Portfolio II LLC, which was among several loaning $147 million to Performant Financial Corp., which gets 23 percent of its annual revenue from Education Department contracts to go after delinquent student loans

She is retaining interests in Neurocore, which claims to help students overcome attention deficit hyperactivity disorder through therapy.

Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, said a sit-down conversation with DeVos “reaffirmed” her “strong concerns” and said she won’t vote to confirm her.

“Betsy DeVos and her family have a long record of pushing policies that I believe have seriously undermined public education in Michigan and failed our children,” Stabenow told the Detroit Free Press.

Here is the letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Photo by Keith A. Almli via Wikimedia Commons