The United States Senate on Tuesday confirmed Betsy DeVos as the country’s education secretary after Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote in her favour. While all 48 Democratic Party and independent senators voted against her, two Republicans opposed her appointment as well, saying she was unfamiliar with the public education system and student protection laws, The New York Times reported. However, the Democrats failed to secure a third defection from the Republican Party.

Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they had “serious concerns” about DeVos serving in the Donald Trump administration as she had only worked to promote charter schools – schools that receive public funding but operate independently of the public education system. “She may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools, and also what is broken and how to fix them,” Murkowski said. Meanwhile, Democratic senators said they had received thousands of phone calls from their constituents opposing the appointment, ABC News reported.

Following the vote, DeVos said she was “honoured to serve as” the country’s education secretary. “Let’s improve options & outcomes for all US students,” she tweeted. Critics have pointed to DeVos’ fortune and financial investments as a potential conflict of interest. She was also criticised for some of her answers during her confirmation hearing, such as saying that guns would be needed in schools in states like Wyoming to protect students against “potential grizzlies”.