RantCrush Top 5: February 7, 2017

Senate Democrats spoke for 24 hours straight on the Senate floor to convince at least one more Republican to vote against confirming Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Going into the vote, two Republicans had already pledged to vote “no” to DeVos. Her opponents had pretty strong arguments: she has never attended or worked in a public school, all her kids also went to private schools, she has never worked in education or in government, she is pro-charter schools, and has donated millions to the GOP. She also made an odd gaffe during her confirmation hearing–she made a comment about how guns in schools could be useful in case there’s a grizzly bear attack. Senator Chris Murphy played off that moment when he tweeted about his commitment to standing up to DeVos:

Took the 4am shift. The chances you will be watching are bested only by the chances a grizzly bear walks into your kid’s school today. https://t.co/757Tylf2jB

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 6, 2017

But during the vote this afternoon, there was a 50-50 tie. Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie to cast the deciding vote in her favor.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.