Ohio Sen. Portman says he’ll back Trump education pick despite pressure

Don’t expect Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to be the 51st vote Democrats need to thwart Michigan philanthropist and billionaire Betsy DeVos in her quest to be the next Secretary of Education.

Portman announced Thursday that he backs DeVos for Secretary of Education, saying “during the confirmation process she committed to strongly support public education.”

He said he also appreciates “her support for local control instead of having the federal government dictate education policy at the state and local level.”

“I look forward to working with her to improve our K-12 public education system, make college more affordable, stand up for children with disabilities, and close the skills gap by promoting Career and Technical Education (CTE) to give young people more opportunities to succeed,” he said.

His announcement comes one day after two Republicans - Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - announced that they would not back her nomination.

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