Speculation has been building in the education world for a while about president-elect Joe Biden鈥檚 possible pick for education secretary. If Biden has a Democratic Senate to work with, his job would be relatively straightforward politically. But it appears there will be two Senate run-off elections now set to take place in Georgia in January.
What happens if the GOP, whose Senate candidates won the majority of votes in the Nov. 3 contests, wins both seats and maintains a narrow majority in the Senate?
If they hold the Senate, Republicans would have significant leverage in decisions about who serves in key Biden administration posts. There鈥檚 already talk about how a GOP Senate .
And while education secretary is not a top cabinet post, there鈥檚 an unusual potential X-factor: Some Republicans might decide that a little revenge is in order for the unprecedented hurricane of opposition U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos faced when she was picked for the Trump administration back in 2017.
Biden has already promised that his secretary of education would be a former public school educator; a top adviser declined to clarify recently if that meant someone from the K-12 world or higher education. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, as well as National Education Association President Becky Pringle and Pringle鈥檚 immediate predecessor, Lily Eskelsen Garc铆a, meet that standard. Weingarten and Garc铆a are reportedly in the running for the job. Their names for many months.
But the two unions鈥� vigorous support for Biden in the 2020 general election, their overall hostility to school choice, and their default position on collective bargaining issues could make it difficult for a nominee with deep or direct ties to unions to get the thumbs-up from a GOP-controlled Senate.
鈥楻espects Our Professionalism鈥�
So could all that lead a President Biden to pick nominee who disagrees with the unions and their allies on key issues, in order to appease Senate Republicans?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he will pick someone like that,鈥� said Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, who like others spoke to us before the Associated Press called the race for Biden on Saturday. If that happened, she stressed, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe that the secretary of education would be able to actually achieve the vision that he has set out.鈥�
In conversations with Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden鈥攚ho鈥檚 an NEA member鈥攊t鈥檚 been clear that the president-elect would pick someone 鈥渨ho respects our professionalism and professional authority鈥� and also focus on civil rights and inequities in education.
鈥淲hen he says he鈥檚 going to nominate an educator who鈥檚 had experience in public education, [he鈥檚] going to do that,鈥� Pringle said. 鈥淲hen he says that he鈥檚 going to nominate someone who believes that education is a public good and the foundation of our democracy, he鈥檚 going to do that.鈥�
Biden has promised a massive infusion of federal funding for disadvantaged students and to help schools address the pandemic. He鈥檚 also pledged to restore Obama administration civil rights initiatives.
Pringle said she plans to keep teaching in Philadelphia and won鈥檛 be education secretary.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said she鈥檚 confident Biden would pick someone who would believe in and advocate for the recommendations laid out by a joint task force earlier this year from leaders appointed by the president-elect and his 2020 competitor for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Those recommendations include new limits on charter schools and pay raises for teachers.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 hoping for, and that鈥檚 what I believe that they want,鈥� Weingarten said, referring to Biden鈥檚 team. 鈥淚f [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell wants to attempt to be an obstructionist, there鈥檚 going to be a lot of acting cabinet secretaries.鈥�
Weingarten noted that she believes Republicans weren鈥檛 thrilled with DeVos鈥� tenure, to say nothing of Democrats, and that bipartisan passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act shows there鈥檚 still common ground that both parties can work from. She said she was 鈥渉onored鈥� to be mentioned as a possible education secretary, but said she was focused on her current duties.
So is a confrontation looming about this if there鈥檚 a GOP-run Senate? And would Biden run toward it or duck it?
鈥淚 think it makes it much less likely that a union-affiliated nominee will be confirmed,鈥� said Martin R. West, a professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former adviser to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee. 鈥淣ow, I think it鈥檚 too early to anticipate what sort of strategy a Biden administration will take, given the context that they would face. They may choose to nominate some people that the Republicans are uncomfortable with to try to force the Republicans to make it look like they鈥檙e being obstructionist.鈥�
As Weingarten alluded to, the hostility between Republican members of Congress and teachers鈥� unions can be overstated. Remember, the NEA gave Alexander in 2016 after Alexander led efforts to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act. Republicans and unions might sometimes share concerns about federal regulations that affect educators ability to exercise autonomy in areas like student discipline.
But Alexander, who worked to make ESSA a law with bipartisan support, is about to retire from Congress. And there鈥檚 no clear successor to Alexander as a Republican who can cut deals with Democrats on major education issues.
If Republicans keep the Senate, Alexander鈥檚 success as Senate education committee chair would also have a huge role to play in nomination proceedings. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., is next in line to serve as the committee chairman in that scenario, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would follow; Burr is retiring at the end of his term in 2022.
History at Work
Even if a big union official isn鈥檛 picked, the unions鈥攂oth of which endorsed Biden, worked hard to elect him, and have opposed the Trump administration at virtually every turn鈥攚ill likely have a significant influence over whoever Biden does pick.
Meanwhile, Democrats for Education Reform, a group that鈥檚 often clashed with the unions on issues like choice and accountability, has to influence Biden鈥檚 pick. But the pressure from unions, advocacy groups, and others, will be significant.
Another part of the backdrop would be the complicated and often contentious relationship unions had with the Obama administration. They will be pushing hard to avoid a repeat of 2014, when it soured so badly that the NEA .
That history, along with the 鈥渢ragedy鈥� of DeVos鈥� tenure, is one reason why Biden should reject any pressure to pick a nominee who鈥檚 more amenable to Republicans, or Democrats who take a middle-of-the-road approach to key issues, said Yohuru Williams, a board member of the Network for Public Education, a group that鈥檚 aligned with the unions on issues like education funding and charter schools. 鈥淚 absolutely believe it鈥檚 our turn and that there鈥檚 not room for compromise鈥� when it comes to what a nominee supports, Williams said.
鈥淚 would hope that the unions exercise that influence to force the Biden administration to abide by his promises on the campaign trail,鈥� Williams added.
Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, echoed that sentiment. Schneider wrote in an email that the 鈥渢reaty thinking鈥� that might lead Biden to pick a more moderate nominee has been wrecked by DeVos. He said there鈥檚 an irony in that some Democrats 鈥渨ould like nothing better than for Biden to pick someone who is pro-charter [and] tough on teachers.鈥�
Duncan, the head of Chicago Public Schools when Obama nominated him to lead the Education Department, was lavished with praise by Republicans as well as Democrats and coasted to confirmation in 2009. Democrats controlled the Senate at that time.
A school superintendent from a major district who get could union approval, or a state schools chief, might strike the right balance if the Senate is run by the GOP, given Biden鈥檚 preference for an educator, West noted. He added that Biden could sidestep that particular political minefield altogether by nominating someone from higher education.
鈥淚鈥檝e been waiting for that to happen for 20 years,鈥� West said.
Pringle and Weingarten both indicated they wouldn鈥檛 automatically oppose such a nominee; the AFT and NEA have members at colleges and universities.
Back in 2016, in becoming education secretary if Hillary Clinton won the presidency.
(Like other news outlets, 澳门跑狗论坛 relies on the Associated Press to call election results.)
Photo: Joe Biden (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)