Education nominee DeVos finalizes disclosures ahead of vote, but Democrats unhappy

WASHINGTON – Education Secretary pick Betsy DeVos has finalized her financial and ethics disclosures ahead of her confirmation vote, but Democratic senators still say they need more information.

In documents released by the Office of Government Ethics on Friday, DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and school choice activist, pledged to divest her interests in more than 100 companies within 90 days of her confirmation. DeVos has also resigned from her positions at a number of think tanks and groups that advocate for school choice and other initiatives.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee held a confirmation hearing on DeVos earlier this week and a vote was planned for Tuesday. DeVos faced tough questions regarding her contributions to the Republican Party, her support of charter schools, her views on LGBT rights, sexual assault and other matters.

Committee Democrats said Friday they need more time to review DeVos’ finances and that she has not yet answered additional information that they had requested.

“Ms. DeVos and her family have incredibly complicated and opaque financial entanglements, and staff is now reviewing all of her and her family’s holdings that have conflicts with her role as secretary of education,” said Eli Zupnick, spokesman for the committee’s Democrats. He added that Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, the top Democrat on the panel, is concerned that the chairman, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, “continues to rush this nominee to a vote before members have a chance to do their due diligence on this nominee and have their questions answered and ethics concerns addressed.”

Democrats and labor unions have protested DeVos’ candidacy, saying she intends to dismantle public education in favor of charter and private schools. They have also voiced concern that her family’s multi-million dollar contributions to Republican candidates and groups constitute a conflict of interest.