Short one critical but elusive Republican “no” vote against Ms. DeVos — a billionaire philanthropist with little experience in public schools
and a remarkably shaky showing at her confirmation hearing — Democrats on Monday did the only thing they could: They talked.
After days of grasping at procedural hurdles, Democrats held vigil against Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s polarizing nominee for education secretary,
and promised to spend the final 24 hours before her confirmation vote Tuesday reiterating their objections.
2 Republican, said the Senate session would not end until lawmakers confirmed four of Mr. Trump’s nominees: Ms. DeVos, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as attorney general, Representative Tom Price of Georgia to lead the Department of Health
and Human Services, and Steven T. Mnuchin as Treasury secretary.
A version of this article appears in print on February 7, 2017, on Page A14 of the New York edition with
the headline: Short One Vote to Defeat DeVos, Democrats Vow to Hold Senate Floor Through the Night.