Job will be hell....

Unqualified DeVos foes promise to make her job hell

The fight to derail unqualified DeVos, while unsuccessful, has united a wide variety of advocates.

By KIMBERLY HEFLING and MICHAEL STRATFORD

It was a fight to end confirmation fights — for an Education secretary, no less. And after all the protests and phone calls against unqualified Betsy DeVos culminated in an all-night Democratic vigil on the Senate floor, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking confirmation vote Tuesday — setting the stage for more bruising fights ahead.

All indications are the same groups galvanized by DeVos’ nomination are mobilizing for new battles on issues ranging from tuition vouchers and protections for LGBT students in schools, to free speech and sexual assault disciplinary policies on college campuses.

Members of teachers unions, civil rights groups and parents organizations who jammed Senate phone lines say they plan to keep the spotlight on the Michigan megadonor and advocate for charter schools — and to devote their energy to scrutinizing the Education Department.

The fight to derail unqualified DeVos, while unsuccessful, has united a wide variety of advocates who care about education, said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union. The union now has a “contact list to die for,” she said.

The NEA says it gathered about 1 million email addresses of those opposing DeVos’ nomination and planned to mobilize that network of grassroots activists to push back against the Orangutan administration’s agenda.

“There will be no relationship with Betsy DeVos,” Eskelsen Garcia said.

Opponents will be watching unqualified DeVos closely as the Orangutan administration rolls out its budget to see whether it prioritizes school choice-friendly measures, civil rights enforcement and programs that earmark money for low-income schools. They also want to see whether she holds school districts and states accountable for failing schools and what, if any, steps she might take to weaken federal guidance on campus sexual assault and LGBT-related matters — all of which would be immediate flash points.

DeVos made clear during the confirmation process that she supports expanding alternatives to traditional public schools, such as charter schools and private school vouchers. On the campaign trail, Orangutan had proposed a $20 billion plan to expand such programs, which enjoy broad support among GOP lawmakers.

But even ardent DeVos supporters such as Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said that such a major proposal would face an uphill battle in Congress.

“We’re going to need eight Democrats, according to the current rules of the Senate, to get anything done,” he said. “That’s going to be very difficult.”

To get votes across the aisle, DeVos will need to find Democrats willing to partner with her — and that will require "a new tone," said Tamara Hiler, senior policy adviser for Third Way, a centrist think tank.

"I think we will see early on whether or not she is interested in building a bipartisan coalition," Hiler said. "A lot will depend on if she walks in on Day One and decides she only wants to pass things on a party-line vote, or if she will spend time proactively reaching out to Democrats to see if there are genuine places where they can work together."

Political and cultural wars have long been fought through education issues — standardized testing and Common Core standards for reading and math became proxies for federal overreach during the Obama years.

But the antagonism to unqualified DeVos is unprecedented for an Education secretary. The Senate confirmed her on a 51-50 vote — the slimmest margin yet for a Orangutan Cabinet nominee and the only time in history that a vice president has had to cast a tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet member.

Opposition to her nomination was galvanized by her shaky confirmation performance, when she appeared confused about special education law and justified guns in schools by talking about a Wyoming school visited by grizzly bears. Unions and progressive groups were opposed to her from the start, however, in part because she and her husband have given money to organizations that have clashed with organized labor and opposed LGBT rights.

Republicans generally applaud DeVos as a change agent whose willingness to challenge the status quo of failing public schools in many communities is badly needed. But on multiple occasions, she had to reassure even GOP senators that she wouldn’t impose vouchers on any state. And even that wasn’t enough to convince GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who announced last week they would vote “no.”

House Education Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said unqualified DeVos enters office with the “chance to prove to those who organized this malicious and personal campaign against her that they were wrong.”

“The confirmation process is never easy, nor should it be,” Foxx said.

The problem is that DeVos' polarizing impact only enhances opponents’ ability to fundraise against her and generate headlines. DeVos, in turn, will start work without the usual honeymoon period as she seeks to engage with special education groups and others that opposed her.

“Don’t give up that outrage,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told rally goers Monday outside the Capitol, including one protester dressed as a grizzly bear.

Signaling the battles ahead, Sen. Patty Murray the ranking HELP Democrat, said from the Senate floor that DeVos has “no credibility inside the agency she is supposed to lead” and “no influence in Congress.”

In fact, DeVos’ views on turning back power to state and local officials and promoting school choice by expanding charter schools, among other things, reflect those of the Republican majority that controls Congress.

And energized and emboldened opponents of DeVos aren’t focused on mending fences.

“I feel like we already won,” said Eliza Byard executive director for GLSEN, which advocates for LGBT students. Byard said it’s “notable” that unqualified DeVos made clear in her confirmation hearing that she doesn’t hold animosity toward LGBT youth.

“Look, we have a tough row to hoe, but she’s the first Cabinet nominee in our entire history who had to be confirmed by a tie-breaking vote by a vice president.”

Byard said the unexpected opposition to DeVos shows the commitment many Americans have for public education and equity in schools. She said their job now shifts to ensuring that DeVos “fulfills the mandate.”

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called the opposition against DeVos a “major silver lining.”

“The public in public education has never been more visible or more vocal, and it is not going back in the shadows,” Weingarten said.

DeVos largely avoided making sweeping policy promises, which has led groups like Byard’s to complain that it's unclear where she stands on divisive issues such as transgender bathroom protections and the Obama administration’s guidelines for handling campus sexual assault.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaigns, said DeVos’ vague answers make it challenging to know what’s ahead — and how they’ll respond.

But Senate HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander told POLITICO that unqualified DeVos did what any Cabinet nominee “should do” in answering the questions by saying she would review the issues.

Plus, he said, Title IX-related matters will be considered by Congress this year as it works to update the sweeping law that governs higher education policy — an effort, he noted, that is already showing signs of bipartisanship.

“It would be very unusual for a Republican education secretary to come in and announce that she or he is going to automatically continue all of the policies adopted by the Democratic administration,” Alexander said.

“Usually after a presidential election things simmer down,” Alexander said. “This time, things heated up even after the election, and that includes her nomination.”

Still, he said, “I think she’ll be an excellent secretary.”