WASHINGTON: Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s Education Secretary nomination, appears to have lifted quotes in at least two instances in written answers submitted to the Senate committee tasked with approving her nomination. After DeVos’ confirmation hearing was limited to one round of questions by Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour and Pensions, Democrats submitted hundreds of questions to the nominee. In response to a question from Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the committee, on bullying of LGBT students, DeVos almost directly – and un-cited – quoted Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of Obama’s Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department. The questions – which totalled over 1,000 – were answered in DeVos’ name, but it’s unclear what role aides and staffers played in answering the queries. “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow,” DeVos writes. Gupta was credited with nearly the same quotes in a May 2016 press release on ensuring the civil rights of transgender students. “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment that allows them to thrive and grow,” Gupta wrote. In another instance, DeVos appears to have lifted language from the Department of Education website. “Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made a determination about the merits of the complaint,” DeVos wrote in response to a question about publishing the list of schools under Title IX investigations. Department of Education guidance reads, “Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to the merits of the complaint.” DeVos is one of a handful of Trump cabinet nominees that Senate Democrats believe they have a chance of winning.