On March 14, 2016, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. John B. King Jr. as the U.S. Secretary of Education. The confirmation vote was a continuation of bipartisan action on education issues that resulted in the passage in December 2015 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Dr. King had been serving as acting secretary since former Secretary Arne Duncan stepped down from the post in December 2015. Dr. King served as commissioner of education in New York state from 2011 to 2014, prior to joining the U.S. Department of Education.