Trump nominates Penny Schwinn for deputy secretary of US Department of Education

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday his picks for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and multiple deputy assistants to the president in the Office of Legislative Affairs.

On Saturday morning, Trump announced he nominated Penny Schwinn, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

While in Tennessee, Schwinn oversaw the department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, implemented Gov. Bill Lee‘s school voucher program and overhauled the state’s school funding formula, the Associated Press reported.

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Schwinn previously worked at the Texas Education Agency as the deputy commissioner of standards and engagement, deputy commissioner of special populations and monitoring, and chief deputy commissioner of academics. 

She was also the assistant secretary of education in Delaware.

Trump congratulated Schwinn on Saturday in a post on Truth Social. 

“A former teacher herself, Penny became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations to Penny and her wonderful family!”

Schwinn holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins, and a Ph.D. from Claremont.

On Saturday afternoon, Trump announced Jay Fields, Jeffrey Freeland, and Pace McMullan as deputy assistants to the president and deputy directors of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

Fields started his career in Congress in 2015, most recently serving as deputy policy director for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. 

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Prior to his most recent role, Fields was the executive director of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC), an organization comprised of more than 170 House Republican members. He also served in multiple policy roles for the RSC and other House Republican offices.

Freeland began working for Trump as a congressional liaison during the early part of the 2016 Republican primaries, helping to build support among House Republicans. 

The role led him to the White House, where he initially served as the House liaison for the Office of Management and Budget. 

In the second year of the administration, Freeland transitioned to the East Wing, where he worked as a special assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs until the end of Trump’s first term.

McMullan has worked in Congress since 2013, beginning in the House of Representatives, where he served as a legislative director. 

Since 2019, McMullan has worked in the Senate as a legislative director, and most recently as executive director of the Senate Steering Committee.