WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The confirmation for President Biden's Secretary of Education nominee Dr. Miguel Cardona moved one step closer on Thursday.
In a 66 to 32 procedural in-house vote, the Senate passed a motion to invoke cloture. According to Senator Chris Murphy's office, the Senate will now confirm Meriden-native Dr. Cardona on Monday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m.
"So proud that Dr. Miguel Cardona --our state's education champion -has cleared another procedural hurdle on the way to become a key Biden cabinet member," Senator Richard Blumenthal tweeted. "As Secretary of Education, he'll be an energetic advocate for students & teachers."
Senator Blumenthal added, "Overwhelming bipartisan support for Dr. Cardona as Education Secretary will enable him to restore integrity & professionalism at the Department. The nation urgently needs his leadership."
Dr. Cardona, 45, was nominated by President Biden in December.
Cardona is a life-long educator who was raised in a housing project in Meriden, Connecticut. Cardona attended Meriden public schools and returned as a fourth grade teacher in 1998. Dr. Cardona worked his way up to assistant superintendent of schools in Meriden. In 2020 he was appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont to be commissioner for the Department of Education.
Dr. Cardona has been a staunch supporter of getting school children back in physical classrooms.
"If [COVID-19] was spreading within our schools, I would say shut them down," Cardona told FOX61 in November 2020. "It is not spreading within our schools we have to maintain the social and emotional well-being of our learners are long as we can because we know remote learning does not compare to in-person learning," said Commissioner Cardona.
If Dr. Cardona is confirmed, he will be the second Hispanic man to hold the position.