Protesters block DeVos as she tries to enter a DC public school

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of ME voted DeVos down, both citing the wishes of their constituents as a major factor. Two Republican senators from rural states that rely heavily on public schools opposed the nomination and Vice President Mike Pence had to cast a tie-breaking vote on Tuesday.

Despite the win, DeVos emerged bruised from the highly divisive nomination fight.

Officials at the Education Department first acknowledged the crashed website last week, the day after DeVos was confirmed despite deep opposition from special education advocates.

Then the reporter tried again and asked, “What do you think of the school?” DeVos has shortcomings, but mainly the critics did not like it that she is conservative, religious and rich, you finally figured out. “No school door in America will be blocked from those seeking to help our nation’s schoolchildren”. But as anyone who has ever worked in a public school knows, it’s incredibly tone deaf. Why?

A bigger issue than DeVos needs to be dealt with.

UPDATE: 11:48 AM EST – The Washington Post reports DeVos did gain access to the school via another entrance. “She’s my sister-in-law”, Roland said of DeVos. She also showed she doesn’t understand current federal laws to support and protect students with disabilities.

The panicked rhetoric seems to stem from DeVos’ long history of advocacy for charter schools and school vouchers.

“President Trump’s swamp got a new billionaire today”, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. After a man threw himself in front of a staircase leading into the school, DeVos was forced return to her auto, a small number of protesters chasing after her.

“I would hate to [see] some school districts that are nearly abandoned because they are considered failing schools”.

DeVos has the support of pro-school choice groups because of her encouragement of charter schools and the support of parents and families having the ability to choose what schools their children could go to. Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Education Committee.

America’s education system is broken and in need of a sharp change in course or, better yet, significant disruption.

Meanwhile, public education partisanship has radicalized apace. DeVos has never attended a public school and has spent much of her public life arguing against traditional public schools. DeVos is doing that quite well on her own. Her opponents, including many teachers, deluged congressional phone lines to implore their senators to vote against her. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, GOP Rep. Tom Price of Georgia as health secretary and financier Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary.