U.S. Senate Readies Confirmation of Resident of North Dakota as Assistant Secretary of Education

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(KNOX) – Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, took an important step Friday towards U.S. Senate confirmation to serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education. The position oversees federal policy for the nation’s K-12 schools.

The Senate last week 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.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Senate majority leader, said in a posting on X that the vote “sets up confirmation for next week.”

“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.”