FARGO — Amid a federal government shutdown, the U.S. Senate took steps Friday, Oct. 3, to pave the way to confirm Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota’s superintendent of public instruction, as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education next week.

The Senate voted 51-46 on Friday to place the confirmation on the Senate calendar for the following week, along with about 100 executive appointees. If Baesler is officially confirmed by the Senate, she will not be able to begin her new position until after the government resumes operations.

The federal government was shut down Wednesday, Oct. 1, after Congress failed to reach an agreement over how to fund government services.

The assistant U.S. secretary for elementary and secondary education overse

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