Bush congratulates DeVos on confirmation

via @learyreports

WASHINGTON -- Jeb Bush celebrated the confirmation today of Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

“I congratulate Betsy DeVos on her confirmation as our nation’s next Secretary of Education. The president made an excellent choice to lead the Department of Education," Bush wrote in a statement from his education foundation, whose board DeVos sat on.

DeVos, who struggled through her confirmation hearing, barely made it through the Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence having to cast a tie breaker. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson voted against her and Sen. Marco Rubio voted in favor.

But for Bush and other education advocates, it is a win nonetheless. Bush wrote several letters and op/eds on DeVos' behalf.

"Millions of families share Secretary DeVos’s vision for disrupting a failed status quo that has denied too many children access to a quality education," Bush said today. "It’s time to upend the entrenched special interests that put adults above genuine reforms that will raise student achievement. I hope the senators who opposed Secretary DeVos’s nomination will now put aside the tired arguments of the unions and come together to prioritize the needs of students. Under Secretary DeVos’s leadership, I am confident the federal government will loosen its grip on our education system and return power to the states and parents where it rightfully belongs.” 

--ALEX LEARY, Tampa Bay Times