UNEXPECTED

Senate Confirms Education Secretary

John King Jr. moves from interim to permanent role.

As Congress continues to battle the Obama administration over whether it would consider a new Supreme Court justice nominee, former teacher John B. King Jr. was confirmed as America’s new education secretary Monday. King has been serving as acting secretary since Arne Duncan stepped down from the role last year, a title the Education Department expected him to have throughout the remainder of Obama’s administration. The Senate confirmed his nomination in 49-40 vote. King, who served as acting secretary, will head up a series of initiatives, including implementing the law that replaced No Child Left Behind last year and enforcing new rules for for-profit colleges.