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

Catherine Lhamon addresses a meeting of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Washington, DC., on Nov. 13, 2018. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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.