WASHINGTON – The United States Senate has taken another step towards the confirmation of North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to be the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC.
The Senate on Friday voted 51-46 to authorize a final confirmation vote on a group of more than 100 executive appointees for President Donald J. Trump’s administration. The group includes Baesler and other top officials of the U.S. Department of Education.
She was nominated in February by President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. The current federal government shutdown will delay Baesler’s swearing in.
“Like others affected by the shutdown, I’m in a holding pattern,” Baesler said. “The Department of Education is currently unable to onboard new appointees or administer the constitutional oath of office. I look forward to serving in this new role and will resign from state service and join Secretary McMahon and the department’s leadership team once operational logistics permit, and I have ensured a smooth and effective transition.”
She will oversee the federal office that shapes and supports K-12 education policy across the country.
