WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, defended his vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. DeVos, the controversial pick who prompted two Republican senators to break ranks with their party, was confirmed by a straight majority vote of 51 to 50 after Vice President Mike Pence cast an unprecedented tie-breaking vote.

Portman, who stuck with his party on a vote that was split almost entirely along partisan lines, said last week that although he “heard the concerns” of educators, boards of education and other constituents from across the state of Ohio regarding DeVos’ confirmation, he found them unwarranted.

“I supported (her) because contrary to misleading attacks, I believe she will be an advocate for kids,” Portman told reporters, adding that he doesn’t believe things will change drastically for Ohio schools under DeVos because she “will maintain local control.”

“We’ve never seen a candidate who was such a strong advocate of local control,” he said.

Opponents of DeVos clogged Congressional switchboards this week with pleas to their representatives to vote against the nominee, however most Republican senators ignored those pleas to vote along strict party lines. But Portman said that his own questioning of DeVos is what made up his mind, despite his constituents’ pleas.

“I do think it’s important, when you’re in my role, to do your own research,” he said. “She has a strong record of supporting kids. Their concerns, even if true, that’s not consistent with her strong support of local control. I think there was some misinformation about her.”

Though those who spent time calling into his and other offices would disagree, Portman said that he still feels he listened to his constituents and did what was in the best interest of Ohio and the nation.

“I did ask the questions,” he said. “I did get the answers, and I did listen to my constituents of course.”

Portman countered the scores of calls in opposition to DeVos with an anecdote of one Republican voter who admonished him to vote for the president’s pick because he had also voted for Democratic nominees under the Obama administration.

“I do believe the president deserves deference when putting together their teams,” he said. “I think that’s important, that we give the president some deference.”

Despite toeing the party line on the DeVos vote, one area where Portman was not willing to defer to the president is on the issue of Russia. Concerning President Donald Trump’s comment to Bill O’Reilly on Sunday, when the president asked the Fox hosts “Do you think our country is so innocent?” after O’Reilly noted that Russia is known to kill political dissidents and enemies, Portman said, “I find this troubling.”

He noted that Russia has a long history of killing their opponents, both foreign and domestic, had illegally annexed the Crimea, and were currently encroaching on the borders with Ukraine and supporting pro-Russian separatists there. He also acknowledged that intelligence shows Russia “tried to influence our election.”

“I find the comments troubling,” he said. “I don’t think there is a moral equivalence here. Not just in the way they treat political opponents, but in Ukraine, Crimea, and Syria… People need to understand the distinct difference.”

He reiterated his commitment to maintaining sanctions against Russia until they comply with the conditions of those sanctions, withdraw their forces and cede the territory they have illegally annexed, particularly in the Crimea.

He noted that despite the DeVos vote splitting along party lines, that one issue that enjoys strong bipartisan support in Congress is maintaining the commitment to supporting our allies in Ukraine.