WASHINGTON ― The Senate narrowly voted Monday to confirm John B. King Jr. as the nation’s education secretary.
The vote was 49-40. King has served as acting secretary at the Education Department since Arne Duncan stepped down in December.
As secretary, King will oversee the department as it puts in place a bipartisan education law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in December. The measure revamps the widely criticized No Child Left Behind Act and substantially limits the federal government’s role in public schools.
Obama nominated King last month. After the vote, Obama said King “will continue to lead our efforts to work toward high-quality preschool for all, prepare our kids for college and a career, make college more affordable, and protect Americans from the burdens of student debt.”
Monday’s vote comes as an Associated Press investigation finds little change in the business and marketing practices at a for-profit college that the Education Department helped rescue from near-collapse, despite pledges to ditch the hard-charging sales tactics that have led to complaints for lawmakers and former students.
Zenith Education Group had promised to transform Everest University, one of the schools in the for-profit chain of Corinthian Colleges Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection last year amid fraud allegations. But the AP review has found that significant problems remain, including contentious recruitment tactics and the retention of several senior Corinthian executives in key posts. The department on Monday removed the independent monitor overseeing the business practices of Zenith.
The Senate’s quick action on the King nomination stands in sharp contrast to united Republican opposition to an eventual Obama Supreme Court nominee. GOP lawmakers in the Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they won’t consider Obama’s choice to fill the vacancy ― no confirmation hearing, no vote, not even meeting with the nominee. They argue that the American voters in November should decide who selects the next justice.
