--- ---  # Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary After Historic Tie-Break by Mike Pence  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 7, 2017 5:30 PM UTC  Betsy DeVos testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Betsy DeVos testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 7, 2017 5:30 PM UTC Billionaire philanthropist [Betsy DeVos](http://time.com/4606096/betsy-devos-schoolyard-rebel/) was confirmed Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary, bringing her [rocky confirmation process](http://time.com/4662085/betsy-devos-senate-vote-standoff/) to a historic conclusion. Vice President Mike Pence offered the 51st vote in favor of DeVos, making him the first U.S. Vice President ever to cast a tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet member. Even as other Cabinet nominees have faced opposition, DeVos became the subject of a particularly heated public campaign in recent weeks. Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski [announced last week](http://time.com/4657030/betsy-devos-opposition-susan-collins-lisa-murkowski/) that they would not vote for DeVos, bringing the vote to a 50-50 tie. In a [late-night standoff](http://time.com/4662085/betsy-devos-senate-vote-standoff/) on the Senate floor Monday, Democrats denounced DeVos and tried — unsuccessfully — to convince another Republican Senator to vote against her. DeVos, a school choice advocate, was heavily criticized after her confirmation hearing last month, when she [struggled to answer questions](http://time.com/4637642/betsy-devos-confirmation-education-policy/) about key issues in education policy. Protesters across the country have campaigned against her confirmation, organizing rallies and flooding lawmakers with tens of thousands of phone calls. Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4662686/betsy-devos-education-secretary-tie-break/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4662686/betsy-devos-education-secretary-tie-break/"},"headline":"Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary After Historic Tie-Break by Mike Pence","datePublished":"2017-02-07T17:30:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:11:13.036Z","description":"Pence is the first Vice President to break a tied vote for a Cabinet nominee","url":"https://time.com/4662686/betsy-devos-education-secretary-tie-break/","keywords":["Congress","Education","White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2baaf9c3b71a8a99/6988b918656a3f0e15bceadb/betsy-devos-confirmation-mike-pence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2baaf9c3b71a8a99/6988b918656a3f0e15bceadb/betsy-devos-confirmation-mike-pence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump's Selection For Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Testifies During Her Senate Confirmation Hearing","caption":"Trump's Selection For Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Testifies During Her Senate Confirmation Hearing","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4662686/betsy-devos-education-secretary-tie-break/","name":"Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary After Historic Tie-Break by Mike Pence"}}]}] ```