On Tuesday, the state Senate confirmed a pair of acting secretaries to lead the Departments of Education and Labor & Industry in Pennsylvania. 

The state Senate confirmed Noe Ortega to lead the state’s education department by a 44-6 vote, while Jennifer Berrier was confirmed by a 45-5 vote to serve as the Labor & Industry Secretary.

PennLive reports that the Senate Labor & Industry Committee “voted to support Berrier’s nomination with a favorable recommendation”, while Ortega’s nomination was advanced out of the Senate Education Committee with “no recommendation.”

State Sens. John DiSanto (R-Dauphin), Chris Dush (R-Jefferson), Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango), Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), and Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) voted against confirming Ortega. 

DiSanto, Hutchinson, Mastriano, Pittman and Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair) voted against confirming Berrier. 

Both Berrier and Ortega had been serving as acting secretaries for their respective departments since late last year. 

It’s official: the #PASenate has confirmed @PDESecretary Noe Ortega! pic.twitter.com/dmQxMABO7o

— PA Department of Education (@PADeptofEd) June 23, 2021

Ortega served as acting secretary since he was nominated in Oct. 2020 after Sec. Pedro Rivera resigned to become the president of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. 

After leaving his position as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education, NBC News reported that Rivera was listed as a possible candidate for U.S. Education Secretary. Rivera was not selected to serve as the U.S. Education Secretary, but he was named to the Biden-Harris leadership transition team. 

Berrier served as the acting secretary since December 2020 after Sec. Jerry Oleksiak resigned from the position.