Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Senate has set the date for Dr. John B. King's confirmation hearing as U.S. Secretary of Education: Feb. 25 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
• The move by the Obama administration is reported to be linked to higher education legislation that King will work on, necessitating a formalization of his current position.
• Republican lawmakers have said a formal confirmation hearing is necessary to ensure accountability and to comply with constitutional requirements. 

Dive Insight:

Since assuming the position of acting Secretary of Education, current law allows King a total of 210 days to remain "acting" under law.  Before, it was unclear if the Obama administration would move forward with the nomination, but widespread bipartisan support for King allegedly played a role.

Still, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest previously told the Washington Post that he thought it would be unlikely for King to get a fair hearing due to “a stridently partisan Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.” Though Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who chairs the chamber's education committee, has publicly expressed support for King, he has also previously said that he plans to hold at least three separate oversight review meetings to examine the upcoming implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

It's unclear just how contentious King's confirmation hearing might be, especially given his previous position of education commissioner for New York state, where his tenure was criticized in relation to the state's complicated rollout of Common Core State Standards.