![\"Betsy](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/smile_devos-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C295\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSenate Democrats announced they will be holding the floor for the next 24 hours before a final confirmation vote on Betsy DeVos. They need just one more Republican to join them to block DeVos\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n
The Hill reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats will hold the floor for the next 24 hours, until the final vote, to do everything we can to persuade just one more Republican to join us,\u201d Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said from the Senate floor Monday.<\/p>\n Unless Democrats agree to yield back some debate time, a final vote on DeVos is expected for noon Tuesday, when Vice President Mike Pence will likely need to break a 50-50 tie.<\/p>\n A spokesman for Murray confirmed that \u201cDemocrats plan to keep the floor open and there will be speeches over the night in this final push.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans advanced DeVos\u2019s\u00a0nomination in a 6:30 am<\/a> vote on Friday.<\/p>\n We just need 1\ufe0f\u20e3 more Republican to vote against DeVos. Help make it happen \u2192 ? t.co\/royTVR0cdV<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/JFpOVvtadU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) February 6, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For the next 24 hours, @SenateDems<\/a> will #HoldTheFloor<\/a> to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos.<\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) February 6, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n DeVos, who plagiarized answers to questions from senators<\/a> regarding her viewpoints,\u00a0has a terrible record for LGBT people.<\/p>\n Writes Lambda Legal:<\/p>\n Lesbian, gay<\/a>, bisexual<\/a>, and transgender students contact Lambda Legal every day to seek help being safe at school.\u00a0 We need a Secretary of Education who will make schools safe for all students, and who won\u2019t tolerate bullying \u2013 by peers, parents, or school administrators. What we know so far about Betsy DeVos\u2019s record concerns us. She has supported Focus on the Family, which opposes marriage equality, and her family foundation has funded a group that advances the dangerous practice of so-called \u2018conversion therapy.\u2019 Her advocacy for privatizing public education could eject students \u2013 LGBT or not \u2013 from the protection of federal laws.\u00a0 A complete confirmation process for Betsy DeVos is necessary in order to fully investigate whether she supports equal rights for LGBT students.<\/p>\n Writes Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n Under the Obama administration, the Education Department\u2019s Office for Civil Rights has aggressively policed civil rights issues \u2014 such as cracking down on colleges that mishandle sexual assault cases, and urging schools to extend anti-bullying policies to cover LGBT students. During the election, the Trump campaign was critical of the civil rights office, with some Trump surrogates questioning its very existence. DeVos has said little about such issues, but civil rights advocates have said they\u2019re \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d that she might seek to rein in the office\u2019s enforcement efforts. They note the DeVos family has a long history<\/a> of supporting anti-gay<\/a> causes \u2014 including donating hundreds of thousands to groups that push \u201cconversion therapy\u201d \u2014 raising questions about how DeVos would address discrimination against gay<\/a> and transgender students. Democrats and advocacy groups are also concerned about donations<\/a> that DeVos\u2019 foundation made to another group, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has pushed to raise the standard of evidence in sexual assault cases on college campuses. Ed Patru, a spokesman for a group of DeVos supporters, said<\/a> she sees private school vouchers and charter schools as a civil rights issue. \u201cIn hundreds of communities of color, kids aren\u2019t being taught the skills they need to succeed in college or find the kinds of jobs that pay enough to escape poverty, and Betsy believes that is an alarming civil rights crisis,\u201d Patru said.<\/p>\n She also believes guns should be allowed in schools\u2026to prevent grizzly bear attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post Senate Democrats Launch 24-Hour, All-Night Protest of Anti-LGBT Education Nominee Betsy DeVos<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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