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Ed Committee Advances Schwinn, Richey Nominations to Full Senate

Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the committee, called them 'crucial to enacting President Trump鈥檚 pro-America agenda.'

During their June 5 confirmation hearing, both Penny Schwinn and Kimberly Richey vowed to support the Trump administration鈥檚 education priorities. (U.S. Senate Photographic Services)

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Penny Schwinn, Tennessee鈥檚 former education chief, is one step closer to joining the U.S. Department of Education as deputy secretary after the Senate education committee on Thursday advanced her nomination to the full chamber.  

The committee also voted to move the nomination of Kimberly Richey to lead the Office for Civil Rights. A conservative civil rights lawyer, Richey served in the second Bush and first Trump administrations.

The votes for both nominees fell along strict party lines, 12 to 11. 

鈥淭hese nominees are crucial to enacting President Trump鈥檚 pro-America agenda,鈥 Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the committee, said in a statement.

With the Senate focused on passing President Donald Trump鈥檚 tax bill and roughly 200 nominations awaiting a vote, it could be several weeks before both are confirmed.

Schwinn would oversee K-12 policy. During a June confirmation hearing, she expressed support for a more hands-off approach from Washington while also strengthening reading instruction based on science.

A week after the hearing, she participated in at a Nashville charter school with Education Secretary Linda McMahon to promote one of the Trump administration鈥檚 top priorities 鈥 school choice. The visit came as the department has increased funding for charters while proposing over $4 billion in cuts to other programs. 

Penny Schwinn, nominated for deputy education secretary, participated in a tour and discussion at a charter school with Education Secretary Linda McMahon earlier this month. (Nashville Collegiate Prep/Facebook)

If confirmed, Richey would take over a civil rights office with a much leaner staff following mass firings in March and recommendations from McMahon for further reductions. She vowed to continue the department鈥檚 actions against schools that permit antisemitic demonstrations and allow trans students to use facilities or compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. 

Those views have drawn opposition to her nomination from civil rights groups that advocate for LGBTQ students. In advance of Thursday鈥檚 vote, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with 45 other organizations, sent senators saying Richey 鈥渉as not demonstrated a willingness and ability to enforce civil rights law and protect all students in our country from discrimination.鈥

Some hope she鈥檒l prioritize disability complaints. As acting assistant secretary for civil rights during the pandemic, she into districts that failed to provide students with disabilities services written into their individual education programs.  

鈥淪he was responsive during the first Trump term and pushed through the COVID complaints,鈥 said Callie Oettinger, a special education advocate in Fairfax County, Virginia.

鈥楽he has Linda McMahon鈥檚 ear鈥

While Richey鈥檚 track record fits squarely within the Trump administration鈥檚 ultra-conservative agenda, many education insiders view Schwinn as a moderate who largely avoided culture war clashes while holding schools and students accountable for progress in reading. 

Unlike McMahon, Schwinn has always worked in education. The California native founded a charter school in Sacramento in 2011 and held top positions in Delaware and Texas before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee appointed her commissioner in 2019. 

鈥淧enny has the strongest literacy chops of any state supe I鈥檝e known, and she has Linda McMahon鈥檚 ear and trust,鈥 said Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 

But tends to follow her. Under her leadership in Tennessee, was higher than normal. Conservatives who calling on senators not to confirm Schwinn argue that she holds progressive views on educational equity and proposed an unpopular effort to conduct 鈥渨ell-being鈥 checks on students during the pandemic. 

Others question her judgement, pointing to incidents in which and directed no-bid contracts to companies where Schwinn had personal connections, including her husband, Paul Schwinn.

But those complaints didn鈥檛 sway Republicans on the committee, and Pondiscio dismissed the backlash to Schwinn as 鈥淏.S.鈥 In a February commentary, he that her 鈥渃onservative critics want a culture warrior, not an administrator focused on competent governance and delivering results.鈥

贬别鈥檚 who hope her confirmation brings more attention to core education issues.
鈥淚f you see the secretary spending her time on curriculum and instruction,鈥 he said, 鈥渢hat will be Penny鈥檚 thumbprint.鈥

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