Al Franken: “Thank you. As Senators on opposite sides of the aisle, we have philosophical differences, but one thing I think we all…”

“Thank you. As Senators on opposite sides of the aisle, we have philosophical differences, but one thing I think we all agree on is that our Cabinet Secretaries must be qualified and up to the challenge of running an agency. Betsy DeVos has demonstrated that she is not qualified to run the Education Department. I would say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if you watched her confirmation hearing, you would know that. It was the most embarrassing confirmation hearing I have ever seen. She could not answer the most basic questions about education. So I ask my Republican colleagues, if Mrs. DeVos's performance in this hearing didn't convince you that she lacks qualifications for this job, what would have had to have happened in that hearing in order to convince you? If we cannot set aside party loyalty long enough to perform the essential duty of vetting the President's nominees, what are we even doing here? Let's do our job for the sake of the children and for the sake of our Nation's future. Thank you.”