As the Senate prepares to vote today on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, two conservative groups have been using dark money to air hundreds of TV ads urging senators to affirm President Trump’s choice for education secretary.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, a watchdog group, the nonprofits waging the aggressive effort on broadcast television are the Club for Growth and America Next, which was founded by former La. Gov. Bobby Jindahl. Both groups are allies of DeVos, a GOP megadonor and staunch advocate for charter schools and school vouchers.
Under Section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code, the two groups are categorized similar to charities. That means their primary mission has to be social welfare, but that IRS designation includes airing “issue advocacy” ads that don’t specifically seek to influence a political election.
The funding of such groups is called dark money because these nonprofits aren’t required to reveal their donors, which means the public has no way of knowing who is paying for the pro-DeVos ads.
The Center for Public Integrity reported this morning that an expert who keeps tabs on political advertising said it is “quite unique” for a national ad campaign to push for the confirmation of a Cabinet pick.
Beyond the advertising effort, a former Michigan Republican Party operative, Ed Patru, is serving as a spokesman for a newly formed group called “Friends of Betsy DeVos.” Patru worked with DeVos when she served as state party chair in the 1990s but these days Patru works in the Washington Beltway for the DCI group, a PR firm.
Patru, who has been quoted in numerous news stories, told the Center that the group consists of “friends, supporters, allies” of DeVos but he declined to name names or reveal the size of the group.
Meanwhile, with the Senate apparently split 50-50 over DeVos, which would require Vice Pence to break the tie, another Michigander has weighed in. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow strongly hinted that the Dems may have a surprise in the works.
“We may, in fact, have an additional Republican colleague voting ‘no,’ which would stop her tomorrow,” Stabenow said on CNN Monday.
Photo: U.S. Senate video screenshot
