Nineteen citizens gathered at Senator Enzi’s office in Cody on Monday, February 6, to deliver a petition asking the Senator to oppose the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Members of our organization did a beautiful job, drafting the petition during our organizational meeting on Saturday and gathering 95 signatures by Monday.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Betsy DeVos as Education secretary by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie in a historic vote. The Senate historian said Pence’s vote was the first by a vice president to break a tie on a Cabinet nomination.
Her nomination to head the Department of Education sparked enormous resistance when her disrespect for public education became known. Nationally, constituents jammed senators’ phone lines with calls and protesters gathered outside the Capitol. Sadly both Enzi and Barrasso voted in favor of DeVos, despite receiving hundreds of emails, phone calls, and office visits across Wyoming asking them to vote no.
I am proud to be a part of this educated, highly intelligent and motivated group of citizen. We will keep up the good work.