President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has nominated Penny Schwinn, the former Tennessee Education Commissioner who resigned amid controversy in 2023 and is currently listed as the Chief Operating Officer of BHA Strategy, where she works under Blake Harris, the prominent Never Trumper consultant who recruited an opponent to Trump-endorsed Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) last year, to serve as his administration’s Deputy Secretary of Education.
Ogles, who was endorsed by Trump more than a year prior to the election, ultimately beat the primary challenger backed by Harris in a 13-point victory, despite his opponent raising more money and receiving Harris’ support.
Trump made the announcement in a post to Truth Social, where he noted that Schwinn previously worked in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and Delaware.
Schwinn, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, was a controversial choice when Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee named her Education Commissioner in Tennessee in January 2019, as The Tennessee Star reported at the time:
Schwinn served about one year of a four year term on the Sacramento school board from 2013-14. In that highly contested election, she touted her endorsements from a host of local Democrats including Democrat Mayor Kevin Johnson — who is married to Michele Rhee (founder of StudentsFirst where Lee Administration officials Blake Harris and Brent Esley previously worked) and who is the ex-wife of former controversial Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman — and Democrats for Education Reform.
Schwinn has also been at the center of recent controversy in Texas over her role in the imposition of testing costs on local school systems, which have been criticized as an unfunded mandate by some local school boards.
Schwinn had made a flurry of career moves in just the past 4 years. She quickly moved from her elected School Board position in Sacramento, California after only one year to take a job with that same school system; moved on one year later in 2014 to a position in Delaware as testing and assessment director and less than another year later applied for a became one of 9 persons named as a finalist for a Superintendent’s job in Osceola, Fla.
In Tennessee, she quickly drew the ire of Moms for Liberty Williams County (ML-WC) after she declined to enforce the state’s new ban on Critical Race Theory from K-12 education, arguing the issues highlighted by the parental rights group occurred before the legislation was signed into law.
She also faced controversies related to staffing, library books, and Tennessee’s process to adopt new textbooks, was frequently traveling across the United States for speaking engagements prior to her resignation, and was the only Tennessee official to meet with First Lady Jill Biden and outgoing Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona when they visited Tennessee in 2022. Earlier that month, Schwinn made a special trip to the White House, reportedly to speak with President Biden.
Two years prior to her resignation, in August 2020, members of the Tennessee General Assembly reportedly considered sending a “No Confidence” letter regarding Schwinn to Governor Bill Lee, with Professional Educators of Tennessee noting questions were raised about the increased turnover under Scwinn, as well as her decision to hire 10 new chief or assistant commissioners.
The group also criticized Schwinn over how she handled the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically alleging she was late to share the state’s plan for reopening schools and failed to provide adequate supplies for students and teachers to return to classes.
J.C. Bowman, who leads Professional Educators of Tennessee, told The Tennessee Star that Schwinn was a destructive force during her tenure in Tennessee.
“Her rise exemplifies the Peter Principle, where individuals are promoted until they reach a position in which they struggle to perform,” Bowman told The Star on Saturday.
Conservative political author Dr. Carol Swain similarly urged the president-elect, in a post to the social media platform X, to heed concerns from Tennesseans.
“Mr. President, I hope you will listen to conservative voices in the state who led the battle against critical theory and DEI supplanting traditional educational practices,” wrote Swain. “Whoever recommended Ms. Schwinn hasn’t told you the full story.”
Country music star and America-First conservative John Rich shared on X, “Let me tell you about my experience with Penny Schwinn, Trump’s pick to be Deputy Sec of Education: I met with her in person about the porn in TN schools, FOUR years ago. There is STILL porn in our schools. She refused to abolish it. She is not our friend.”
While in Tennessee, Schwinn also spearheaded a controversial “monthly child well-being” inspection program that would have allowed educators to monitor the mental health of children, later stating in a radio appearance, “There’s no Big Brother intent at all.”
In September 2020, while serving as mayor of Maury County, Rep. Ogles called on Gov. Lee to fire Schwinn as Tennessee Commissioner of Education:
Ogles posted on his Facebook page that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee must remove Schwinn. Ogles said he formally called on Lee to do this only hours after he read Wednesday’s Tennessee Star article that quoted three former TDEC higher-ups. Those former employees, speaking anonymously, denounced Schwinn and her alleged on-the-job behavior. They said she falsified government records, ridiculed Lee at TDEC staff meetings, and lied to avoid appearing in public alongside U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Schwinn proposed last month that state officials conduct child well-being checks on all children in Tennessee from birth to 18. Ogles said “that was the end for me, but I didn’t say anything.”
“When I saw your story my immediate visceral response was this is enough. I’ve had enough. This is a critical time for education for our children in the state of Tennessee,” Ogles told The Star.
“The kids lost half of a year last year. They are missing part of a year this year. My children — and when I say my children, I mean the children of Maury County — my at-risk kids are falling further and further behind.”
Ogles also said that Schwinn jeopardized how much federal funding Tennessee might receive by dodging a meeting with DeVos.
“I need someone who will be on-the-job, taking it seriously and not chasing these rabbit holes of child well-being. We need our children’s education,” Ogles said.
Schwinn’s close affiliation with Never Trump consultant Blake Harris was apparently missed by the team vetting the background of her appointment. Formerly a member of Lee’s administration, Harris reportedly undermined the governor’s pro-Trump political messaging by hiring Never Trump officials to work under the governor.
Harris also openly bashed Trump in 2016, writing one day before that year’s presidential election, “One thing about tomorrow is that either way [Trump] can stop pretending to be a Republican.”
While Schwinn left her job as Tennessee Education Commissioner nearly two years ago, Governor Lee called her “another strong choice” by Trump after his Saturday announcement.
Trump and Lee have previously had a tense relationship, with the president-elect calling the governor a Republican in Name Only (RINO) just months prior to his landslide victory last November.
After her resignation as Tennessee’s top education official in June 2023, the University of Florida, under the direction of anti-Trump former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, hired Schwinn for as its vice president for $367,500 per year.
Schwinn made it less than one year at the university before she was sacked alongside five other allies of Sasse, who resigned citing concerns over his wife’s health, but was also criticized for ballooning the university’s spending and hiring former colleagues and contacts from his time in Congress.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Penny Schwinn” by Tennessee Department of Education.
