Obama announced his intention on Thursday, Feb. 11, as congressional leaders urged him to bring a nomination before them for vetting, reports The Washington Post. King took on the responsibilities of a deputy secretary under Arne Duncan and in January, took over as acting secretary.
In a recent congressional hearing concerning cybersecurity and department CIO Danny Harris, representatives drilled into King for refusing to admit that Harris did anything wrong, even though he clearly broke the law by not reporting more than $10,000 in side business income on his financial disclosure report and taxes. He also made other ethically questionable decisions regarding his employees and department contracts.
But Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) says that King's nomination hearing will be quick and fair, and he would probably receive Republican support unless they uncover ethics issues, The Washington Post reported.