On Thursday, the Senate will hold a hearing on Penny Schwinn's nomination for the office of Deputy Secretary of Education. With President Donald Trump’s intent to significantly reduce the size and scope of the Department of Education, those who are put in these positions must be aligned with this mission and be vigilant about seeing it through. Unfortunately, Schwinn has a troubling record of supporting policies that counter the President’s agenda. Members of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee must be aware of Schwinn’s record to appropriately vet her in this hearing.
Schwinn has a problematic record. She was endorsed by Democrats in 2013 when she was elected to the Sacramento School Board. In 2014, she moved to Delaware to work for the state’s Department of Education to implement testing in public schools. But her tenure there was marked by unmet goals, divisiveness with board members, and a grievance with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights over policies resulting in the resegregation of schools.
She then moved to Texas, where Schwinn worked with radical pro-abortion groups and transgender educators for the development of “health education” standards that stand in contrast to the goals of the Trump administration. She awarded a $4.4 million contract to a Georgia software startup without competitive bidding. After yet more controversy among her staff and an alleged unfunded mandate to impose standardized tests, she fled to Tennessee.
In Tennessee, she was appointed Education Commissioner in 2019. While in that position, she refused to enforce the critical race theory (CRT) ban and remove books that included pornographic materials. She was slow to reopen schools after the COVID-19 pandemic and imposed a mental health inspection program for children beginning at birth. Schwinn suggested “child wellbeing checks” during the pandemic that posed a threat to parental and privacy rights, contrary to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and the Trump Administration. Prominent supporters of parental rights in Tennessee, including Robby Starbuck and Dr. Carol Swain, have criticized her nomination.
Penny Schwinn was also part of Chiefs for Change, a group that touts DEI as a core principle, and is a member of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition. Finally, in both Texas and Tennessee, Schwinn was directly involved in securing contracts that raised serious ethical questions.
Penny Schwinn’s record is troubling. Her past support for policies that undermine parental rights and support CRT and DEI raises red flags. Returning control over education is a key plank in the President’s platform, and we believe Penny Schwinn is not the person we need to implement this worthy goal.
Please call or email the following Senators who represent your state and urge them to oppose Penny Schwinn for Deputy Secretary of Education.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (Alabama) | Sen. Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) |
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) | Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) |
Sen. Ashley Moody (Florida) | Sen. Josh Hawley (Missouri) |
Sen. Jim Banks (Indiana) | Sen. Jon Husted (Ohio) |
Sen. Roger Marshall (Kansas) | Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma) |
Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky) | Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina) |
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121