JC Bowman, founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said it is “accurate” to say that President Donald Trump’s appointment of Penny Schwinn to serve as his administration’s Deputy Secretary of Education will essentially “enhance” the failure of the U.S. Department of Education.
Schwinn, the former Tennessee Education Commissioner who resigned amid controversy in 2023, was criticized by Tennesseans for spearheading a controversial “monthly child well-being” inspection program that would have allowed educators to monitor the mental health of children while she was education commissioner.
In addition, Schwinn also faced controversies related to staffing, library books, and Tennessee’s process to adopt new textbooks while she served at the state level.
Bowman, on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, also pointed out how “nobody wanted to work” for Schwinn while she was education commissioner in Tennessee.
“The turnover rate was atrocious. I think, and I’m going to guess it, I know it was well over 30 percent, probably closer to 50 to 60 percent of the people that turned over in that department,” Bowman said.
Noting how Schwinn previously worked in different roles in Texas, Florida, and Delaware before landing the education commissioner role in Tennessee, Bowman said Schwinn consistently continues to “fail her way forward.”
“She failed in Texas, before that she failed in Delaware. She’s continued to fail her way forward. It makes me question who is vetting these people? I want to know who vetted them for the Lee campaign,” Bowman said.
Bowman said his biggest concern with Trump nominating Schwinn as deputy secretary is the possibility of Schwinn “outworking” the president’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, and eventually “exert her influence in that department.”
“Penny Schwinn will undermine [McMahon] and seek to exert her authority in that position,” Bowman explained.
“I will tell people all the time, she’s a smart lady and she will work hard. But if you’re going to be devious, and she’s devious, you better get up early in the morning and plan to outwork her because she will work hard. So that’s where the fear is that she’ll outwork Linda McMahon and she’ll eventually exert her influence in that department,” Bowman added.
With regard to Trump’s call for the Department of Education to ultimately be dismantled, Bowman agreed with host Leahy that Schwinn, given her record of shortcomings, “will likely enhance the failure of the Department of Education.”
“I think that’s accurate,” Bowman said.
Watch the full hour:
Watch hour 3 of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk
– Watch here on X
– Listen on Spotify
– Listen on The John Fredericks Radio Network (WENO AM760 in Nashville)
– Read more at @TheTNStar https://t.co/CRzebGT0KG— MichaelPatrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) February 18, 2025
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
