The U.S. Senate voted today to confirm Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education. Senators were literally split on her nomination, a 50-50 tie. The anticipated scenario meant Vice President Mike Pence was on hand to break the tie, and his favorable vote sealed her confirmation.

Two Republican senators announced last week that they would vote against DeVos, which meant just one more Republican senator needed to join Democrats in opposing her nomination in order to block her confirmation. Despite reports that Senate offices were flooded with messages from constituents and despite targeted communication efforts aimed at a few seemingly sympathetic Senate Republicans, no additional "no" vote was identified. Interestingly, today was the first time the Vice President has broken a tie vote for a cabinet nominee.

ATPE weighed in on DeVos's confirmation once it was final. In a statement to the press, I shared our intent to work collaboratively with DeVos and our hope that she "will focus her energy on supporting the only school system that supports all children — the public school system." We will continue to work in conjunction with our federal relations team to ensure the voice of Texas educators and ATPE members is heard in Washington.