© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Democrats plan all-nighter in bid to block DeVos

Betsy DeVos
betsydevos.com

Democrats are trying to get just one more Republican to vote against Betsy DeVos's confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education tomorrow.  

They're planning to stay on the Senate floor overnight in a last-ditch bid to block DeVos's cabinet appointment.

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow says she's been overwhelmed by constituents telling her not to vote for DeVos.  

"We've seen parents get involved and speak out, all across Michigan and frankly all across the country,” she says. “I've gotten more mail, more emails, more phone calls on this nominee than any other. And I've gotten a lot on a lot of nominees."

Stabenow says most of those constituents are troubled by DeVos’s lobbying work in Michigan to greatly expand charter schools, without making them accountable for low performance.

“She's pushed for policies that have made charter schools in Michigan less accountable, and taken dollars away from public schools where the vast majority of children get their education,” Stabenow says.

But DeVos's supporters say she puts school choice at the center of the education system, rather than trapping kids in failing schools.  

Kate Wells is a Peabody Award-winning journalist currently covering public health. She was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her abortion coverage.
Related Content