Feb. 6 (UPI) — Senate Democrats are planning a marathon floor debate all day Monday with hopes it will foil the nomination of Betsy DeVos as President Donald Trump‘s education secretary.
The upper chamber is set to vote on DeVos’ candidacy Tuesday, but Democrats hope their debate will persuade one or two Republicans to join them in opposition.
The floor debate is not technically a filibuster, which is a political tactic to block a vote, but the purposes of both actions are essentially the same.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on DeVos’ nomination at noon Tuesday. As it stands, experts say the vote will end in a tie with Vice President Mike Pence, the Senate’s president, casting the deciding vote to approve DeVos’ appointment.
If Democrats succeed in getting one or two Republicans to join them, they could gain the upper hand in defeating the billionaire, school voucher proponent.
Republicans control the Senate with 52 members, compared to 48 Democrats and independents. GOP Sens. Susan Collins, R-Me., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., though, have said they plan to oppose DeVos — deadlocking the expected vote at 50-50.
The aim of a marathon floor debate is to raise all the issues and concerns about DeVos, a major Republican donor from Michigan. Such in-depth discussion, Democrats hope, will persuade one or two Republicans to join their side.
Democrats said they will continue their debate non-stop into the night and early morning until Tuesday’s vote.
“Democrats will hold the floor for the next 24 hours, until the final vote, to do everything we can to persuade just one more Republican to join us,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.
DeVos has been one of Trump’s more contentious Cabinet choices. Last week, she won approval from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions by one vote. She was heavily questioned during her committee hearing about potential conflicts of interest between her government post and private education investments.
In particular, the panel showed concern about her desire to implement a private school voucher program — and whether that might lead to diminished funding for public schools. The Office of Government Ethics has identified more than 100 potential conflicts of interest concerning DeVos’ candidacy.
“The people have spoken. And they’ve spoken out against DeVos,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday. “[The] Senate GOP needs to listen.
“DeVos is a billionaire who spent her career and fortune rigging the system.”
Democrats’ chances of pulling off the coup appear to be slim, however. Many of the Senate Republicans who are considered potential flips have stated in recent days that they plan to vote for DeVos.
