DeVos may have used official's remarks without attribution


              Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., accompanied by the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, during the committee's executive session to discuss the nomination of Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., accompanied by the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, during the committee's executive session to discuss the nomination of Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos appears to have used quotes from an Obama administration official without attribution in her responses to questions from Democrats considering her nomination.

DeVos' nomination cleared the Senate Health, Education, Pensions and Labor Committee on Tuesday, despite fierce opposition from Democrats.

In response to a question on LGBT rights, DeVos wrote to Sen. Patty Murray, the committee's top Democrat, "Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow."

The quote appears to closely track a statement by Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, in a May press release.

Murray said Tuesday that many of DeVos' responses "look copied and pasted from previous statements."

The Washington Post was first to report on the coincidences.

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