Betsy DeVos.Getty / Chip Somodevilla
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted to approve Betsy DeVos as secretary of education.
The committee voted 12-11, along party lines.
The vote on DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor, was originally scheduled for January 24 but was delayed to give the committee more time to review DeVos' financial disclosures.
An advocate for alternatives to traditional public schooling, DeVos championed charter schools and school voucher initiatives in her home state of Michigan, where she served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party. She has been one of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks.
Democrats have argued that she is unqualified to be secretary of education, a position they doubled down on after a contentious confirmation hearing in which DeVos was grilled on several issues and often demurred on answers or said she was currently unable to provide a response.
About 250 education and civil-rights groups signed a letter opposing her nomination.
Her nomination now goes to the full Senate for confirmation.
