Senate Education Committee Deadlocks on Biden’s Pick to Head Civil Rights Office

A Senate committee on Tuesday was tied on the nomination of Catherine Lhamon, who was picked by President Joe Biden to lead the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Following a 11–11 vote along party lines, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee reached a deadlock on whether Lhamon should become the next assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department, a position she held during the Obama administration from 2013 to 2016. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), a ranking member of the HELP Committee, explained in a press release after the vote that he opposed Lhamon’s return to her former office because of her “partisan records and extreme agendas.” “Catherine Lhamon’s track record is also deeply troubling if not outright disqualifying,” Burr said. “Ms. Lhamon has a history of using inflammatory rhetoric, violating students’ constitutionally-based right to due process, and abusing regulatory power.” Senator Patty …