Senate postpones Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing amid concerns of conflicts of interest
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In a joint statement released by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Patty Murray (D-Wash) said the delay was simply complying to a "request of the Senate leadership to accommodate the Senate schedule.”
But according to a Politico article, the move comes after democrats became concerned that the Office of Government Ethics was overwhelmed with vetting Trump's cabinets picks and wasn't able to properly review DeVos' financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest.
Had the hearing been held tomorrow morning as planned, it's likely that DeVos wouldn't have been totally cleared by the Office of Government Ethics and that she would not have yet signed an agreement addressing possible conflicts of interest.
DeVos, a Michigan billionaire, is known for her ties to religious conservative organizations, the GOP, and for helping to make a giant mess of the Detroit Public School system.
DeVos opponents are hoping to use this delay to petition senators to vote against instating her as education secretary. Despite her conservative proclivities, other groups are working to encourage DeVos to speak in favor of Title IX during her hearing.
