Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said more questions have mounted as to why President Donald Trump chose Penny Schwinn to be his administration’s Deputy Secretary of Education after her testimony in front of U.S. senators this week.
On Thursday, Schwinn testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions where she painted a misleadingly positive picture of her tenure as the former Tennessee Education Commissioner.
Schwinn, who resigned amid controversy in 2023, was criticized by Tennesseans from the moment Trump announced her appointment earlier this year for spearheading a controversial “monthly child well-being” inspection program while she was education commissioner in Tennessee.
In addition, Schwinn also faced controversies related to staffing, library books, and Tennessee’s process for adopting new textbooks while serving at the state level.
Schwinn previously worked in various roles in Texas, Florida, and Delaware before landing the role of Education Commissioner in Tennessee. She has since aligned herself with left-of-center, DEI-oriented organizations and amassed significant wealth through high-paying roles and consulting work.
Pappert suggested Schwinn, given her work history and wealth accumulation, is a “grifter” who has failed upward through political connections.
He specifically pointed out the timing and ethics of Schwinn launching a new consulting firm shortly after being nominated by the president, implying that it was part of a long-term plan to profit from her federal role.
“She’s a very wealthy woman…She knows how to work with her money,” Pappert said on Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Schwinn portrayed herself as a parent-focused reformer, which Pappert stressed was at odds with her actual record.
“I heard her claims about her time in Tennessee. She said that she was a big supporter of local laws to restrict radical materials in classrooms. She claimed that she was a big proponent of listening to parents and local communities, and she said that she was personally invested in imposing major penalties on anybody who disobeyed these state laws,” Pappert said.
“It’s like she was in a parallel universe during her time in Tennessee,” Pappert added. “According to her, she had a phenomenal track record in Tennessee. She knows the name of every parent in the state, is what is the impression that she gave today.”
He explained how Schwinn agreed with Democrats on issues like foreign student enrollment—contradicting Trump’s stance—indicating she may be trying to appeal to all sides without a clear ideological stance.
“One interesting thing from her testimony this morning is that she was asked by a Democrat senator whether she believes that having foreign students increases competitiveness and benefits the United States of America. The Trump administration is obviously trying to reduce or completely get rid of foreign students at certain universities, but she answered yes. So it seems as though she’s trying to ride that line and make everybody happy,” he said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
