Tennesseans Dr. Carol Swain, a retired college professor who was tenured at Vanderbilt University and Princeton University, and country singer John Rich are calling on the U.S. Senate to oppose the nomination of Penny Schwinn to serve as the Trump administration’s deputy secretary of education.
Schwinn, the former Tennessee Education Commissioner who resigned amid controversy in 2023, was nominated by President Donald Trump in January.
Schwinn’s nomination to serve in the federal education department has been criticized by Tennesseans since the president’s announcement, considering she spearheaded a controversial “monthly child well-being” inspection program during the COVID-19 pandemic that would have allowed educators to monitor the mental health of children.
In addition, Schwinn faced controversies related to staffing, library books, and Tennessee’s process to adopt new textbooks while she served at the state level.
Swain said she stood with “conservatives who oppose the confirmation of Penny Schwinn.”
“She should NEVER have been nominated for Deputy Secretary of Education, the number two position at the Department of Education,” Swain said in an X post on Monday.
“Penny…is a Berkeley educated liberal who is skilled enough to write bureaucratic regulations that could undermine the goal of closing the Department of Education. We need to watch our Senators. America does not need Penny confirmed in a unanimous consent block vote,” she added.
I stand with conservatives who oppose the confirmation of Penny Schwinn. She should NEVER have been nominated for Deputy Secretary of Education, the number two position at the Department of Education.
Penny, former Tennessee Commissioner of Education, is a Berkeley educated… pic.twitter.com/3twggBWc8i
— Carol M. Swain, PhD (@carolmswain) July 29, 2025
Similar to Swain, Rich called on the Senate to tank her nomination.
“I, and the Conservative base of TN strongly oppose the confirmation of Penny Schwinn to the #2 position in the Dept of Education. We had first hand experience with her when she ran Education in our state,” Rich wrote in a post published to X last week.
I, and the Conservative base of TN strongly oppose the confirmation of Penny Schwinn to the #2 position in the Dept of Education. We had first hand experience with her when she ran Education in our state. @SenatorHagerty @MarshaBlackburn https://t.co/R6yGNNzcNG
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) July 25, 2025
Last month, Schwinn, who previously worked in different roles in Texas, Florida, and Delaware before landing the education commissioner role in Tennessee, testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Weeks after her confirmation hearing, the committee voted 12-11 on party lines to approve Schwinn to the role. Schwinn’s nomination now awaits a full vote by the Senate.
Since her resignation in 2023, Schwinn has aligned herself with left-of-center, DEI-oriented organizations and amassed significant wealth through high-paying roles and consulting work. She also briefly served as the University of Florida’s vice president for $367,500 per year.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Send her back to California where she belongs.