Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, center, who defected from the GOP majority, arrives at the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday to vote against confirming Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos.

Despite opposition from both of Maine’s senators, Betsy DeVos won confirmation Tuesday as the nation’s next education secretary after Vice President Mike Pence broke a tie vote.

Sens. Angus King, an independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican, said they could not endorse DeVos for the position.

King said afterward he will “fight to ensure that under her leadership Maine public schools will be provided adequate and appropriate funding and that Maine students will be guaranteed an equal opportunity to a quality education.”

Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only two Republicans to oppose DeVos, a big GOP donor and longtime activist championing public school alternatives. 

Collins said she evaluated DeVos carefully and “listened to the reasoned positions of superintendents, the Maine Principals’ Association, outstanding school teachers, the Maine School (Management) Association and other education experts in Maine.”

Collins added, “Equally important, I had my own observations of Mrs. DeVos at her hearing where she showed a lack of familiarity with the 1975 landmark law guaranteeing children with special needs a free and appropriate education and did not demonstrate an understanding of the challenges facing public schools.”  

“For these reasons,” Collins said, “I made the very difficult decision to vote against Betsy Devos’ nomination.”

King said in a prepared statement that after following her confirmation hearing closely, he concluded that he “could not support Ms. DeVos because I was concerned that she wouldn’t be a strong advocate for public education, that she lacked the necessary knowledge to lead the department, and indeed, that she was hostile to the fundamental mission of the department.”

Collins could have killed DeVos’ chances in committee if she had voted against her then, but chose instead to send the nomination to the floor on a 12-11 vote. She said she believes in letting the full Senate decide on key nominations and cited a couple of instances in the past when she had done the same with controversial appointments.

Cabinet-level appointments were subject to filibuster until former Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, changed the rules a few years ago to allow majority votes on presidential nominations for Cabinet posts and most judicial slots. Had the old rule been in place, DeVos would have been well short of the 60 votes required to win approval.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who represents Maine’s 1st District, said that by approving DeVos, Senate Republicans “took steps to undermine and destabilize our nation’s public schools, which serve nine out of 10 students in this country.”

She called DeVos “a wealthy Republican donor who has shown little regard for or knowledge of the public education system she has been entrusted to steward.”

Pingree also pointed out that GOP House members are pushing legislation to overturn Department of Education rules that help states create accountability plans and measure student success. 

“Public education continues to be our country’s most important resource for ensuring that all children — no matter their circumstances — can succeed to the best of their ability,” Pingree said. “Delivering a quality education to all American children is fundamental to our country’s long-term success.” 

“I’m extremely disappointed to see Republicans place such a low importance on our public education system and the students who rely on it to succeed,” she said.