they have shared their concerns about mrs. devos. they understand that she is completely unqualified for this position. mr. president, our children, their families, and our nation deserve better than a secretary of education who does not value public education. ensuring access to public education for every student is an issue that is deeply personal to my family. surely after my husband and tom and i welcomed our first child into the world, our son ben, we found out that he had severe and pervasive physical disabilities. it became clear to tom and me that we were going to need a little bit of extra help if our son was going to have the kind of future we all want our children to have. and we were lucky because we found that help in our community, not only among friends and neighbors, but in a public school system that welcomed ben. i still remember the day that a school bus pulled into our driveway and we wheeled ben on to the lift and up into the bus and off he went at age 3 to his first day of preschool, publicly funded, inclusive p

mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. ms. devos will be an excellent education secretary. she has a commitment to public education. she's said that. but there's no better example of that than her work on the most important reform of public schools in the last 30 years, which is charter schools. charter public schools are the fastest-growing reform of public education to give teachers more freedom and parents more choices, and she's been at the forefront of that public school activity. second, she's spent her time, true, helping to give low-income parents more choices and better schools for their chin. but is that a reason not to support her? i mean, i would be surprised if any president supported an education secretary who didn't support charter schools. i would be surprise fundamental a republican president didn't appoint an education -- or nominate an education secretary who didn't believe in school choice. and what i especially like about ms. devos is that she believes in the local school board instead of the national school board. she's made it clear that there will be

mrs. devos is a billionaire. she has extraordinarily complicated and opaque finances, both in her own holdings as well as those in her immediate family. we know that she has invested in education companies, for-profit companies, for decades, over 100 conflicts were identified. her ethics paperwork raises questions about the company that she plans to remain invested in, and she still, by the way, has not fully answered my questions about her committee paperwork. mr. president, as i told the republican chairman at our markup, the process that has taken place on mrs. devos' nomination is a massive break in the tradition of this body. we should not have had a vote in this committee until all senators had received appropriate responses to reasonable questions and until a second hearing was held so that senators could get these serious concerns and do our jobs scrutinizing the nominee. you understand, we had a hearing, were limited to five minutes each, and we did not have all of the paperwork, so we could not do our h

doo devos' testimony. for starters, mrs. devos did not demonstrate that she understood the individuals with disabilities education act, idea. she didn't understand it was a federal law passed by congress and signed by president george h.w. bush. contrary to the impression that ms. devos seemed to have at her confirmation hearing, saying that somehow complying with idea was simply a voluntary measure. that is not right, it's not the law, and boy, oh, boy did that frighten a whole lot of parents whose kids have special needs. and without idea, would not have those needs met. they are concerned that mrs. devos' seeming lack of familiarity with idea is indicative of how, if confirmed, her department department of education would fail to protect the rights of these children and every child to a free and appropriate public education to allow even kids with special needs to flourish. another area under the department of education's jurisdiction where i have concerns about mrs. devos' jurisdiction and level of understanding is sexua

i opposed secretary devos, mrs. devos, i had the chance to see at her confirmation hearing before the help committee for three basic reasons. i think the children and parents and teachers of this country are entitled to a secretary of education who is a champion for public education. they can be a supporter of choice, charters, vouchers, home schooling, but 90% of our kids go to public schools, and they need a champion. section, -- second, i want a sef education that has the view that if any school receives taxpayer funding, they should be held to the same accountability standards for their students. and, third, very particularly, i am deeply concerned about mrs. devos' commitment to the individuals with disabilities education act, which in my view is one of the best pieces of legislation that congress ever passed. in my four-plus years in the senate, i have not had a single issue that has generated so much effort to contact my office as the nomination of ofs betsy dev. last week we passed 25,000 contacts by constit

like all of us, mrs. devos is the product of her experience. she appears to the education and through theducation lens of her experience in promoting alternatives to public education in detroit and other cities where she is no doubt the invaluable work. as schools vouchers raise the question of whether or not she fully appreciate that the secretary of education primary focus must be on helping states and communities, parents, teachers, school board members and administrators strengthen our public schools. devos, seeking harsher in in writing that she would not support any federal legislation mandating that states adopt vouchers, nor will she condition federal funding on the presence of voucher programs in states. i would ask unanimous consent my letter to mrs. devos and her reply be entered into the record. senator alexander: it will be. collins:: there remain other questions about mrs. devos's knowledge of certain federal education laws. while it is unrealistic and unfair to expect a nominee to know all of the details of such programs, i was s

mrs. devos is a billionaire. she has extraordinarily complicated and opaque finances, both in her own holdings as well as those in her immediate family. we know that she has invested in education companies, for-profit companies, for decades, over 100 conflicts were identified. her ethics paperwork raises questions about the company that she plans to remain invested in, and she still, by the way, has not fully answered my questions about her committee paperwork. mr. president, as i told the republican chairman at our markup, the process that has taken place on mrs. devos' nomination is a massive break in the tradition of this body. we should not have had a vote in this committee until all senators had received appropriate responses to reasonable questions and until a second hearing was held so that senators could get these serious concerns and do our jobs scrutinizing the nominee. you understand, we had a hearing, were limited to five minutes each, and we did not have all of the paperwork, so we could not do our h

devos, as a nominee and if she's confirmed as the secretary of education, mrs. devos must guarantee kristin and her son that she will support public schools and children with disabilities without exceptions -- not with equivocation, not with some bizarre, erroneous argument about what states might want to do, but full commitment -- full compliance with the idea, full compliance with the law as it relates to any child with a disability. she has an obligation. once she takes the oath of office, a sworn duty, as a servant of taxpayers, as a servant of those parents like kristin, to make sure that she meets kristin's expectations -- not the expectations of the president, not the expectations of insiders here in washington, she's got to answer to the expectations of kristin and taxpayers like her. and her son. so she has a heavy, heavy burden of proof based upon her testimony to date. mr. president, i am geeing move to another -- i'm going to move to another topic, a topic that has been the subject of much attention lately but, frankly, not enough attention over many

i -- i just conclude, mr. president, by saying that mrs. devos too be often lacks experience. just as often she has the wrong experience that we should expect from someone to lead the department of education in what is really a critical junction for our country. i cannot support her nomination because i'm not convinced that she is interested in bringing democrats and republicans together on a shared vision of improving public education in this country. and reluctantly, i must urge my democrat and republican colleagues to listen to this ground swell of voices from across the country and ultimately oppose this nomination. thank you very much. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: mr. president, as the senate dlibts the nomination of betsy devos to be -- deliberates the nomination of betsy devos to be secretary of education, i have heard from more than 4,200 marylanders who called my office. more than 3,700 marylanders who e-mailed me. countless others who sent me messages via twitter and facebook. and as senator carper has indica

mrs. devos is not that partner. her life's work has been to divert taxpayer dollars to fund alternatives to public schools. some on the other side of the aisle have argued that private school vouchers are no different from pell grants or g.i. bill benefits. this claim is another one of those alternative facts that the new administration is so fond of. public elementariary and secondary education is enshrined in our states' constitutions. attendance is compulsory. public schools do not charge tuition, and they must accept all students. pell grants and g.i. bill benefits support postsecondary education, which is voluntary. schools do not have to accept all students, nor are students required to attend. individuals must pay to go to college. we do not want a system of elementary and secondary education with students and -- where students and families must pay and schools can choose which students they serve. that is not the universal system of public education that has made our nation great. our constituents understand

mrs. devos cares about children. then, really the charges against her is that people don't like the positions she take her violet anybody be surprised that the president would support the secretary of education? all education secretaries, most of the state support charter schools. they were invented by the democratic farmer labor party. and 2.7e 6800 of them million children attend them. they are public schools. the second is school choice. there is a difference of opinion. i have always been amazed. the pell grant, the student loans that follow: students to colleges of the student -- that follow students to colleges of the choice. and then in my view, provided , it createdtion some of the greatest colleges in the world. i have been amazed using the same social policy for schools would be dangerous. i have was thought it might help the schools. it would not help every school. i have tried hard over the last three or four years to create more opportunities for low-income children to have choices of better schools and

mrs. devos cares about children. then, really the charges against her is that people don't like the positions she take her violet anybody be surprised that the president would support the secretary of education? all education secretaries, most of the state support charter schools. they were invented by the democratic farmer labor party. and 2.7e 6800 of them million children attend them. they are public schools. the second is school choice. there is a difference of opinion. i have always been amazed. the pell grant, the student loans that follow: students to colleges of the student -- that follow students to colleges of the choice. and then in my view, provided , it createdtion some of the greatest colleges in the world. i have been amazed using the same social policy for schools would be dangerous. i have was thought it might help the schools. it would not help every school. i have tried hard over the last three or four years to create more opportunities for low-income children to have choices of better schools and

mrs. devos is different. i've heard from minnesotans about many of president trump's nominees, but the outcry over this nomination far surpasses anything else. as of a week ago, my office had received 3,000 calls about this nominee, a grand total of 12 were in favor of her confirmation. additionally, we received more than 18,000 letters and e-mails and, again, the overwhelming majority of them have urged me to oppose this nomination. for example, a woman from brainard, minnesota, twroat say that she'd -- wrote to say that she'd never contacted one of her representatives before and didn't consider heave self -- herself very political. she was near the democrat nor republican. but she has daughter in second grade and a son beginning kindergarten in the fall and she wanted me to vote against betsy devos. how, she asked, is someone who has never had any experience in public education supposed to competently preside over it? a mother of two school -- public school students in fairbow, minnesota, wrote, "as i watch

devos to be the secretary of education. so, i think the chairman of the committee for her working withan me and my colleagues on this matter, but i cannot supportce this nominee. >> i've asked consent for five minutes. >> is there objection, without objection. >> i come to the floor to thank the senator from alaska and the senator from maine for this reason. they are following a long tradition in the senate but too many senators do not follow. they are allowing, despite their final view on the substance of the issue, the full senate toma make an issue on this. it used to be that the motion was routine. we cut out the vote so that we could have an up or down vote on an important issue. the senators would say i'm going to allow a vote to come to the floor so they can make the decision and i thank them for at that. following the remarks an article should properly concerned that the devos as the education secretary which i believe itoffw will do. without objection.aid tha >> she has the commitment to public education. there's t

i know folks who said that democrats were trying to embarrass mrs. devos in the hearing. that is -- that is an easy question. will you support equal accountability in any k-12 school that receives federal funding, public, public charter, or private? the answer to that question is yes. but she says, i support accountability. okay, that's not as good, but maybe it's heading in the right direction. equal accountability for all schools that receive federal funding, presses senator kaine? i support account bt, she says. okay, senator kaine is sort of figuring out this might be an evasion rather than an answer. he says, is that a yes or a no? i support accountability. do you not want to answer my question, says senator kaine? i support accountability. okay, let me ask you this, i think all schools that receive taxpayer funding should be equally accountbling. do you agree with me or not? well, they're not today. i think they should. do you agree with me or not? well, no. so at the end of that line of questioning, senator kaine finally gets his answer, which is that betsy devos d

i know that mrs. devos cares deeply about children. i recognize that she's devoted much time and resources to try to improve the education of at-risk children in cities whose public schools have failed them. and i commend her for those efforts. i wrote to mrs. devos seeking her assurances in writing that she would not support any federal legislation mandating that states adopt vouchers nor would she condition federal funding on the presence of voucher programs in states. she has provided that commitment, and i would ask unanimous consent that the exchange of correspondence with mrs. devos be entered into the record at the conclusion of my statement. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: nevertheless, madam president, like all of us, mrs. devos is the product of her experience. she appears to view education through the lens of her experience of promoting alternatives to public education in detroit and other cities where she has, no doubt, done valuable work. her concentration on charter schools and vouchers, however, ra

devos can be that person. mr. president, education holds the key to a more prosperous america, a better informed electorate and a society in which the nation's bounty is more fairly shared as more citizens have access to a good education. we cannot advance those goals without a strong secretary of education. we cannot leave this job to just happen on its own. we need somebody who's going to fight for those ideals, and unfortunately the record indicates that ms. devos is not that person. so i join with my colleagues in opposing the nomination. i hope between now and the time of the vote other senators will take another look at the record, because it is important that we muster the votes to defeat this nomination. and we also must show very clearly that we will not accept a department of education that is focused more on undermining our commitment to a public education than one that is upholding that important american tradition. so i thank you, mr. president, and i defer now to the ranking member of the education c

mrs. divorce. secondly. when we get into that hearinges we were told that democrats would only had five minutes each to ask questions. to ask about betsy devos and her finances. the long record on privatization of public education her vision for this department and the many issues in this department's no five minutes and then cut off. it. >> madam president it was completely unprecedented and absolutely wrong berger never before had been to the committee not a single time i recall that the senator had a question for a nominee and was cut off and blocked from asking for but democrats sitting at the hearing waiting in helping the chairman would change his mind but we worship them and she was protected from the answering additional questions. after we finally got the paperwork and had a number of questions i requested another hearing to ask colonel questions that was a reasonable request but it was rejected. i had a number of questionsab about missing information in your paper work for the co

the public hearing demonstrated that mrs. devos is wholly unqualified for this appointment. her answers or lack of answers specifically regarding idea and the school choice were frightening. as a parent, i was literally shaking. my nine-year-old son was listening to a portion and heard senator hassan mention dyslexia in her question. he cheered and asked if we were going to make sure all kids get special help to read. i couldn't answer him because in her answer, mrs. devos seemed not to know that idea is a federal law protecting these beautiful minds, protecting them from being a line-item that can be wiped away. their future successes and achievements going right along with it. i ask you please oppose betsy devos for education secretary, for the good of all our nation's children. thank you, samantha. thanks for writing. we also heard from maura thickeshima, a mother from dutem, who wrote us to say this, before having my own children i taught in public schools for five years, three in boston and two in tennessee sum ner county. and i'm writing to ask you to vote against the

thank you very much, and i urge my colleagues to join me in opposing mrs. devos' nomination. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: thank you, mr. president. and i thank the distinguished senior senator from minnesota for her comments. she speaks from experience and knowledge, as has the senior senator from washington state on this issue. you know, i have -- i have seen thousands of confirmation votes, literally, at all levels, up to and including cabinet members and supreme court justices in my years here. i've voted for a large majority of a president's nominations, both republican and democratic presidents. some where they may not have been the person i would have chosen, but i thought at least the president should be given a prerogative. if the person is qualified. ideology is one thing. qualifications is another. now, this, of those thousands of confirmation votes, i have a hard time remembering any that was like this one. we had a whirlwind confirmation hearing and committee vote. zip, zip, zip, it's almo

this contributed to my vote against mrs. devos' nomination yesterday. what is also appalling is senator sessions' previous comments on idea. in 2000, sessions gave a speech on the senate floor suggesting that disciplinary problems in schools stem from idea. sections said -- quote -- "teachers i've been talking to have shared stories with me. i've been in 15 schools around alabama this year. i've talked to them about a lot of subjects. i asked them about this subject in every school i go to and i am told in every school that this is a major problem for them. in fact, it may be the single most irritating problem for teachers throughout america today." he continued. quote -- "there's no telling how many instructional hours are lost by teachers in dealing with behavioral problems. in times of an increasingly competitive global society, it is no wonder american students fall short. certain children are allowed to remain in the classroom robbing the other children of hours that can never be replaced." the quote continues. "there is no need to extend the schoo

devos for secretary of education. i do not intend to vote on final passage to support mrs. devos. >> mike pence could cast the deciding vote. that, as the president paid his respects to the final homecoming as navy s.e.a.l. william ryan ownens days after he was killed in a military raid in al qaeda in yemen. the president tweeted about the solemn occasion saying attending his transfer with my daughter ivanka was my honor. to a great and brave man, thank you. >>> i'm sure you saw it on twitter or facebook, beyonce on the internet with big baby news. she and jay-z are expecting twins. we have been blessed. it is the most liked instagram picture of all time. it only took seven hours to surpass the previous record held by salina gomez with many picture. the question is, what will it be named? they have blue ivy. now this stream of lava shooting from the side of this sea cliff on the big island. it dumped a fire hose. it is pouring 70 feet down into the pacific ocean. once it hits, explodes on impact sending steam high into the air. officials warned visitors not to get to close.

devos as secretary of educn. passage to support mrs. devos. >> vice president mike pence for the first time in history could cast the deciding vote. the president paid his respects to a navy s.e.a.l. who was killed in a military raid against al qaeda in yemen. everywhere out there, beyonce slaying the internet with baby news. she and jay z are expecting twins. we have been blessed two times over. it is now the most liked instagram picture of all time. it only took seven hours for the photo to pass the previous record held by selena gomez with this picture that generated 6.3 million likes in june of 2016. we have baby ivy. what names are >> a stream of molten lava shooting out from a sea cliff. the lava is spraying seven feet down into the pacific ocean and exploding on impact. it is sending steam high into the air. they warn visitors to the no get too close because it is laced by hido chloric acid and contains shards of volcanic glass. we will go to bill for details on a big storm slamming the west. >> they get all the snow and the rain

mrs. devos, let's start with the basics. do you support protecting federal taxpayer dollars from waste fraud and abused. >> absolutely. >> oh good, so do i appeared now we all know that president-elect trumps experience with higher education was to create a fake university which resulted in him paying $25 million million dollars to students that he cheated. i am curious about how the trump administration would protect against waste, fraud and abused at similar for-profit colleges. how do you plan to protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse by colleges that take and millions of dollars in federal student aid? >> senator, if confirmed, i will certainly be very vigilant. >> i'm asking how. how are you going to do that. >> the individuals with whom i work in the department will ensure that federal monies are used properly and appropriately, and i will look forward to working. >> so you are going to subcontract making sure that what happens with universities that cheat students doesn't happen anymore. >> no, i didn't

ed mrs. devos then let's startn let with the basics. ba >> reporter: and that is that pretty much how things havehinga gone for betsy devos.s. now, her full confirmation vote is scheduled for monday.da. according to the hill, it was, s actually p pushed before the confirmation vote on jeff jef sessions to be attorneyssiobe general because as aral becae aa republican senator they wantedwn sessions to be able to cast a vote in favor of betsy devos. also yesterday, secretary of state rex tillerson wasate confirmed by the full senate s is that sworn in that latet sw last night. live on capitol hill, i'mhi melanie alnwick, fox5 locall news. >> melanie alnwick thank you very much. 4:33 is the ieti am e. te. another big name company willpa soon call virginia home. h nestle is u.s. its u.s. us. headquarters to arlingtonrlingtn county to 1812 north moore m street. the project would create 748re748 new jobs in the area. a nestle is known for candy but products includee frozen food beverages and petan care products. >> dominion virginia the poweri

and i believe that mrs. devos has given me those assurances. she understands the importance of that. and i look forward to working with her. >> senator, the junior senator in your state, senator ben sass came up strongly over the weekend condemning donald trump's assertion that we are just as bad as russia when he said that, you know, we -- america does bad and terrible things, too, when bill o'reilly asked him if vladimir putin was a killer. why -- what is your sense of why this president is going above and beyond, bending over backwards, if you will, to stay away from criticizing the russian president and to almost give him an excuse? as we know, there's -- since 2000 there's been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in russia who came out against the government there. donald trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesn't agree with him here. do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down? >> i know that putin is a thug and he runs a gas station. and the prices are lo

push mrs. devos to relent. he took his objections to the white house because he could not go forward with his consent. she told mrs. devos that we wanted her to drop her opposition. tonight, a protest is unway where demonstrators are rallying. here is what he said on the today's show last april. >> one of the best answers i heard was from a commentator saying leave it the way it is. right now. very view problem. leave it the way it is. people go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. there has been so little trouble. >> why decision now to reignite cultture role. laverne, thank you for joining us. give us a sense of being transgender and what this reversal would mean to real people? >> thank you for having me here today. when loretta lynch, made that incredible statement last year, i was so moved and i felt for the first time our federal government was turning a corner. the current administration is revoking these guidelines yesterday feels like we are moving backwards. it sends a message to tran

i have spent long hours not only meeting personally with mrs. devos but reviewing her testimony, her comments that she gave back to me, her testimony within the committee. i recognize that i represent a state for whom a strong public education system is an absolute must. so many of alaska's communities will never have an opportunity for school choice because they are too small. they are too remote. we struggle gaining teachers. and trying to convey the unique aspects of alaska, how our children true deserve a strong robust education but making sure that that strong publ edation stem ithere, i didn't have the confidence i needed to provide my support for mrs. devos. >> right now our own whip count probably yours as well is that it's 50/50. this could be the first time the vice president mike pence is going to have to break that tie and cast the decisive vote to confirm her if this holds and if there are no further developments. >> keep in mind what i have done again historically throughout my time here in the senate is to provide an opportunity f

listen to this exchange between betsy devos and elizabeth warren. >> mrs. devos, have you ever taken out a student loan to pay for college? >> i have not. >> have any of your children had to borrow money in order to go to college? >> they have been fortunate not to. >> have you had any personal experience with the pell grant? >> not personal experience, but certainly friends and students with whom i have worked. >> so you have no personal experience with college financial aid or management of higher education. >> okay, and obviously she comes from a very wealthy family. no one should hold that against her. she hasn't had had to take loans. but she also would be one of the few secretaries without any experience being a teacher or running a school system. does that concern you at all? >> no, and let me tell you why. so much of this -- the senators play a lot of gotcha. answer yes or no and really don't want to have real conversation about her views. they really want to put questions out there to catch her and make her look bad. that's the nature of both parti

but her supporters say that the education system needs an outsider. >> mrs. devos will shake things up a little bit, but more importantly, she is going to be part of the effort to return power to parents and teachers. >> reporter: devos has spent three decade using her personal wealth to advocate for public school alternatives devos is expect to be sworn in at 5:30 tonight, pennsylvania senator patrick toomey was among republican lawmakers to vote in favor of the devos, demonstrators made their voice s heard out identify of his philadelphia office today, calling on the senator to oppose another cabinet nominee , andy pudsnor. >> raise your hand if you want a labor secretary to believe in workers and in the robots. >> reporter: the first with toomey gathered outside senator's center city office this afternoon. organizers say appointment of the labor secretary would be bad for pennsylvania workers and fight for an increase in minimum wage. >>> in less than an hour, an appeals court in san francisco will deciding whether to reinstate president trump's travel ban

. >> i don't think mrs. devos can be a champion of public schools. she has told me she doesn't think all schools should be equally accountable to receive taxpayer federal dollars and she's not committed to schools that receiving federal monies following the individual's with the this explains to me why the volume of calls into my office over this have been so high. >> now there's a volume ul of calls are incredible. not just to democratic senators, obviously but also to republican senators as well and specifically target todd those that some people think perhaps might be waivering or have a chance of turning their vote. but it does not sound like there's really much iing withle room here. we know that mike pence, vice-president said he would be honored to cast the deciding vote and that is probably the way it is going to go. but, still, democrats say they will take every last minute they can to try the make the case. that vote as you mentioned comes at noon. live on capitol hill i'm melanie alnwick, "fox5 local news". >> 4:49 is the time and thank yo

. >> they're concerned as mine do on mrs. devos's lack of experience with public education and the lack of knowledge that she portrayed in her confirmation hearing. >> lisa murkowski and susan collins are concerned about devos's commitment to public education. >>> the u.s. acknowledges there were civilian casualties in the yemen raid where a navy s.e.a.l. was killed. they called in an air strike on a house and it turns out there were civilians inside. the u.s. central command said in a statement, peninsula has a horrifying history of hiding women and children in an area where there are camps. >>> president trump made a visit to the dover air force base to honor the fallen. owens' remains was returned yesterday. he was 36 years old and highly decorated. he's the first known service meb kno to have been killed since president trump took office. >>> there was a pivot to an issue that bothered him since the weekend of his inauguration. a retracted report regarding the removal of the mlk bus from the oval office. >> they said the

. >> they're concerned as mine do on mrs. devos's lack of experience with public education and the lack of knowledge that she portrayed in her confirmation hearing. >> lisa murkowski and susan collins are concerned about devos's commitment to public education. >>> the u.s. acknowledges there were civilian casualties in the yemen raid where a navy s.e.a.l. was killed. they called in an air strike on a house and it turns out there were civilians inside. the u.s. central command said in a statement, al qaeda in peninsula has a horrifying history of hiding women and children in an area where there are camps. >>> president trump made a visit to the dover air force base to honor the fallen. owens' remains was returned yesterday. he was 36 years old and highly decorated. he's the first known service meb kno to have been killed since president trump took office. >>> there was a pivot to an issue that bothered him since the weekend of his inauguration. a retracted report regarding the removal of the mlk bus from the oval office. >> th

coming up. >>> mr. gorsuch goes to washington. president trump's pick for supreme court making the rounds on capitol hill. will he be confirmed? democrats ready for a battle. president trump suggesting mitch mcconnell should go nuclear. what that means, we'll explain coming up. >>> let's get right to capitol hill, though. kasie hunt has been covering all these fast-movingevelopments today on the varying confirmation processes. kasie, tillerson confirmed. devos, not so much. >> reporter: it's been a very busy day, kate, on this front. the headline at this hour is betsy devos' nomination to be secretary of education is in serious jeopardy right now on capitol hill. we haven't been able to say that yet about any of donald trump's cabinet nominees, despite democrats' best efforts. the reason why betsy devos is in trouble, because there are suddenly republicans who are saying that they cannot support her. senator susan collins of main and lisa murkowski of alaska, both republicans, both have come under incredible pressure from, in some

mrs. devos have you everdevoe taken out y a student loan fromo the federal government to helpme pay for collrnege.mecollege >> i have not. no. >> have any of your children y had toou borrow money in orderyr to go to college.co >> they have been fortunateeen o not to. >> uh-huh. have you had any personalou experience with had the pellp grant. >> not personal experience but certainly friends and studentses with whom i've worked. whom i' . >> so you have no personalu havp experience witherso collegecol financial aid or management of higher education.n. mrs. devos then let's starts with the basics. >> reporter: those are those toe very contentious confirmation hearings just in committee jus alone. now the full senate vote onteo her confirmation is thaton is th scheduled for monday andr mondaa according to the hill,hill, republicans actually pushedsh her vote ahead of the vote forr senator jeff sessions toions to become attorney generalnel because they wanted sessionsed s to be able to cast a a

mrs. devos has really dedicated her work to undermining that education system. >> you know, of course, that on the president's preliminary schedule, the swearing-in for the vice president, swearing in mrs. devos as education secretary, so they are counting on having the votes. i want to ask you about one other nominee that would come before your committee, and that's andy puzner in labor. reports overnight he's had a number of issues regarding his ethics and conflict of interest declarations and the clearances. now that he is acknowledging that for quite a while, apparently, he and his wife hired an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper and paid back taxes, did what they needed to do to make it good with the irs, but now the question is whether that should be disqualifying? in the past, that has been but that goes back to 1993 and bill clinton's nominees for attorney general, two of whom were eventually disqualified for nomination and had to withdraw. do you think this should be an issue

devos as secretary of education. they contacted me by phone, e-mail, in person, and their concerns center, as mine do. lack of experience with public education and the lack of knowledge that she portrayed in her confirmation hearing. >> i guess they need three republicans if all the democrats hold rank. so they've got two, the question is there going to be a third who comes out now? >> right, that's what we're watching for, steve. and the list is basically similar to what you might consider when you think about why are senators collins and murkowski the ones coming out here? there are a variety of reasons, but a couple, they both come from rural states where a lot of times there isn't a lot of school choice. you send your child to the local public school or you don't have any other options. and so, i think you heard murkowski talk about that and there was some concern about how betsy devos came across at her confirmation hearing. concerns that she wasn't prepared to answer questions and doesn't have the right experie

host: what does betsy devos one to do? what changes would she bring in? have: she and mr. trump pushed a $20 billion voucher program that they say will be paid for using existing funds. we do not know where those existing funds will come from, certainly 20 billion dollars is a lot of money considering that the budget of the department of education is only about $70 billion, so that would be taken money public schools are used to getting and giving states the choice to take that money to private schools. i think that is the first thing she will pitch. i should point out that senator lamar alexander tried to get a similar proposal enacted in 2015 . it failed to pass the senate, even in republicans held more votes. most of the opposition came from arel lawmakers, vouchers not seen as effective in rural states because in order to go to another school, even a you have to drive far, there is transportation barriers, so it would seem to be unlikely that wouldevos and mr. trump be a bit to get the $20 billion proposal enacted that there are smaller things they can do, tax credit s

devos as secretary of education. they've contacted me by phone, e-mail, in person. >> reporter: the announcement sent republicans scrambling on capitol hill because without these two, they have just 50 votes. so with 46 democrats and 2 independents expected to vote no, for the first time in history, they could have a tie. vice president mike pence would be forced to break. >> i was trying to get to yes. i couldn't. >> reporter: devos spent millions of her personal fortune promoting vouchers and charter schools. >> you never attended a public school, k-12 school, did you? >> correct. a >> and your children have not, correct? >> correct. >> and you've never taught at a k-12 school, correct? >> i have not but i've mentored one. >> reporter: and reports that she plagiarized her answers to senators raising new questions about her qualifications. the white house says that is character assassination and they are 100% certain she will get confirmed, but republicans have had to delay the confirmation of jeff sessions as attor

. >> i think that mrs. devos has much to learn about our nation's public schools. >> their positions mean poog vote when the full senate considers the nomination. >>> a scheduled speech by controversial breitbart news editor at uc berkeley abruptly canceled after protests are turned violent. hundreds demonstrated peacefully for hours and then some broke away throwing smoke bombs, setting a bonfire and breaking windows lashing out against milo yiannopoulos. he's an alt-right conservative and a vocal donald trump supporter who has been called a lightweight supremacist. no word on any serious injuries or arrests so far but kept authorities at berkeley on guard for several hours. >>> 76 protest rds have been arrested at the dakota access pipeline. authorities say the demonstrators refused to leave the camp set up on private land. the company building the pipeline wants a judge to seal or redact sensitive documents. there are some concerns the information could be used by someone looking to daniel the pipeline.

devos as secretary of education. i do not intend to vote on final passage to support mrs. devos to be secretary of education. >> how confident are you that you have all the other republican senators locked down? and what's the level of concern in the white house that her nomination will fail? >> zero. i have a confidence she'll be the next secreryf education. she's an unbelievable educator for and advocates for teachers, parents, students. it will be -- i think the games being played with betsy devos are sad. she is someone who's been a tireless advocate over the last couple decades to really support reforms that benefit children. and they are going to be the real winners with her as secretary of education. >> sean spicer saying he regrets, quote, the games being played. again, breaking news. senators lisa murkowski of alaska, who you just saw, and senator susan collins of maine saying they will vote no for betsy devos. again, that does mean that mike pence, vice president mike pence, would have to go to the senate to break that tie. that is, unless, another republican, mo

devos' lack of experience with public education. i cannot support this nominee. >> reporter: another billionaire nominee, vierk abruptly dropped out of the rung for secretary on friday, due to potential conflicts of interest. democrats don't have enough votes to stop any of president trump's nominees, but through boycotts, they have slowed down the process. that, and other factors, have led to trump having fewer cabinet members confirmed at this point in his presidency, reena, than his four predecessors. >> ninan: thanks, errol. tensions between the trump administration and iran are flaring up this weekend. the u.s. hit iran with new sanctions on friday. iran responded today with a new round of short-range missile tests. jonathan vigliotti has more from london. >> reporter: today's military exercise came with a message aimed at the trump administration. , the nation's elite revolutionary guards said the drill was to test missile systems and radars and to "showcase the power of iran's revolution" and to dismiss the sanctions. on frid

devos as secretary of education. they've contacted by phone, e-mail, in person. >> reporter: the afounsment sent republicans scrambling on capitol hill because without these two, they have just 50 votes. so with 46 democrat s and 2 independents expected to vote no, for the first time in history, they could have a tie. vice president mike pence would be forced to break. >> i was trying to get to yes. i couldn't. >> reporter: devos spent millions of her promoting vouchers and charter schools. >> you never attended a k-12 school, correct? >> correct. >> and you've never taught at a k-12 school, correct? >> i have not but i've mentored one. >> reporter: and reports that she plaj injury ryaned answers to senators raising new questions about her qualifications. the white house says that is character assassination and they are 100% certain she will get confirmed but republicans have had to delay the confirmation of jeff sessions as attorney general because they are going to need his vote as senator to confirm devos. lester?

, both citing her lack of experience. >> i think mrs. devos has much to learn about our public schools. >> reporter: devos, a strong supporter of vouchers, under fire for never having worked in the public school system. >> in order to clarify, you never attended a public school, did you? >> correct. >> and your children did not, correct? >> that's correct. >> and you have not taught in one, correct? >> i have not, but i have mentored in one. >> reporter: and she was mocked for this bizarre exchange when talk of guns in schools turned to grizzly bears. >> you can't say definitively today that guns shouldn't be in schools? >> well, i will refer back to senator enzi and the school he was talking about in wyoming, and probably there, i would imagine there is probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies. >> reporter: and there are new allegations she may have plagiarized part of her answers on a senate confirmation questionnaire. >> many of the responses look copied and pasted from previous statements or are simple reitera

devos' lack of pperience with public education. i cannot support this nominee. >> reporter: another billionaire nominee, vincent fola, abruptly dropped out of the running for army secretary on friday, due to potential conflicts of interest. democrats don't have enough votes to stop any of president trump's nominees, but through boycotts, they have slowed down the process. that, and other factors, have led to trump having fewer cabinet members confirmed at this point in his presidency, reena, than his four predecessors. in ninan: thanks, errol. tensions between the trump administration and iran are elaring up this weekend. the u.s. hit iran with new ponctions on friday. iran responded today with a new round of short-range missile tests. jonathan vigliotti has more from london. >> reporter: today's military exercise came with a message aimed at the trump administration. the nation's elite revolutionary guards said the drill was to test missile systems and radars and to "showcase the power of fran's revolution" and to s smiss the sanc

devos as secretary of education. they've contacted by phone, e-mail, in person. >> reporter: this sent republicans scrambling on capitol hill because without these two, they have just 50 votes. so with 46 democrats and 2 independents expected to vote no, for the first time in history, they could have a tie. vice president mike pence would be forced to break. >> i was trying to get to yes. i couldn't. >> reporter: she spent millions of her personal fortune promoting vouchers and charter schools. >> you never attended a k-12 school, correct? >> correct. >> and you've never taught at a k-12 school, correct? >> i have not but i've mentored one. >> reporter: and raising new questions about her qualifications. the white house says that is character assassination and they are 100% certain she will get confirmed but republicans have had to delay the confirmation of jeff sessions as attorney general because they are going to need his vote as senator to confirm devos. lester? >> kasie hunt for us, thank you. th sewift and dram