WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on Tuesday after voting against confirming Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos. Early this morning, at 4am, Murphy spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in opposition to DeVos.

“Today, the Senate voted to confirm a woman who called public schools a ‘dead end.’ Public schools weren’t a ‘dead end’ for me, my parents, my wife, or my kids, which is why I took a stand on the Senate floor early this morning,” said Murphy.

“I voted against Betsy DeVos today because people in Connecticut couldn’t understand why a person who has fought so hard to undermine public schools would be put in charge of them. I heard from thousands of Connecticut parents and teachers who are concerned with Mrs. DeVos’s agenda, and as a parent of two young boys, I share their concerns,” added Murphy. “Now that she’s confirmed, I’ll work to help her understand our public schools. I’ll work overtime to help when she’s doing something that’s good for kids, and I’ll fight to stop her when she’s not.”

After meeting with DeVos privately and questioning DeVos during a HELP Committee hearing earlier this month, Murphy expressed opposition to the nominee. He also joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and four other HELP Committee members last week in raising concerns about DeVos’s potential conflicts of interest, particularly those in for-profit higher education.

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