Republicans just confirmed Betsy DeVos. Now they want to abolish her job.

Impact

Betsy DeVos won confirmation Tuesday as the secretary of the Department of Education, after Republicans banded together to squeak through her nomination with a historic, tiebreaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence.

But just as Republicans rallied to deliver her a seat in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, a member of her own party filed a bill that would make her position obsolete.

Rep. Thomas Massie, (R-Ky.), filed a bill Tuesday to abolish the Department of Education — a one-page bill that, if passed, would shutter the department on Dec. 31, 2018.

"Neither Congress nor the president, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn," Massie said in a statement, noting that he filed the bill on the day of DeVos' confirmation.

Seven other House Republicans signed on to Massie's bill, according to a release from Massie's office. 

"I've always been a proponent of empowering parents, teachers and local school boards who best know our children and their needs," Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) said in a statement. "Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education is the most important step we in Congress can take in returning decision making to the local level."

The Department of Education, which began operating in 1980, oversees federal education policy. It is in charge of federal student loans and Pell Grants — which are awarded to college students who need it most.