Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, is interested in serving as former President Donald Trump鈥檚 education secretary鈥攐r in another key position鈥攕hould he win a second term.
鈥淚 would be honored to serve,鈥� Justice said in an interview with 澳门跑狗论坛. 鈥淚鈥檓 open to serving in whatever capacity the president wants me to serve, whether that鈥檚 more broadly domestic policy, or if it鈥檚 focused on education.鈥�
She added, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a cultural revolution happening in America, and I think our schools are being used as one of the major battlefields. And so, I鈥檓 willing to serve in the next administration, however I need to, because we have got a country to save.鈥�
The organization Justice co-leads, Moms for Liberty, began in Florida in 2021 as a 鈥減arents鈥� rights鈥� group protesting schools鈥� COVID-19 precautions. Since then, it has grown to more than 130,000 members and 300 chapters nationwide.
Before heading up the group, Justice, a mother of four, served on Florida鈥檚 Indian River County school board for four years.
Members of Moms for Liberty are focused on fighting what they often characterize as 鈥渨oke鈥� indoctrination in public schools. They have advocated for the removal of books from classrooms and school libraries, including many featuring people of color and LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
They have opposed policies that allow transgender and nonbinary students to play sports and use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. They have supported restrictions on instruction about race and gender. And the group joined a so-far successful challenge to President Joe Biden鈥檚 new Title IX regulation that has thwarted its enforcement at any school attended by a member鈥檚 child.
Justice demurred when asked if she鈥檇 been in direct talks with the Trump team about the education secretary gig. In response to a question about who else she鈥檇 like to see in the position if she isn鈥檛 chosen, she named Cade Brumley, the Louisiana state superintendent of education.
Justice鈥檚 name鈥攁long with Brumley鈥檚鈥攕urfaces in inside-the-beltway speculation on who might get the education secretary post, given her national profile and relationship with Trump. Justice interviewed the former president onstage at Moms for Liberty鈥檚 Joyful Warriors summit in Washington last month.
鈥淪he鈥檚 as much in the mix as anyone, to the extent that this is even being discussed right now,鈥� said one former Republican congressional staffer who spoke anonymously to be candid about Justice鈥檚 chances. While formal vetting hasn鈥檛 started, Justice certainly 鈥渇its the bill on the education agenda,鈥� the former staffer said.
That鈥檚 particularly true when it comes to the 鈥渃ulture war鈥� pieces of the GOP platform, such as yanking federal funding from schools that teach 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� or enact policies that support transgender and nonbinary students.
Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign鈥檚 communicators director, noted that the campaign has formed a transition team but said, 鈥渇ormal discussions of who will serve in a second Trump Administration is premature.
鈥淧resident Trump will choose the best people for his Cabinet to undo all the damage dangerously liberal Kamala Harris has done to our country,鈥� Cheung said in a statement.
Justice would be an effective messenger for Trump and for parents鈥� rights, said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and a member of Moms for Liberty鈥檚 advisory board.
鈥淭iffany is a phenomenal political talent,鈥� Eden said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 gone from being a stay-at-home mom and school board member to, last year, every Republican candidate who wants to be president has to make an appearance at her national summit. To get from nowhere on the map to there in two-and-a-half years is remarkable. From a communications and messaging standpoint, she is the most skilled communicator that you can find in the education space.鈥�
Ultimately, Justice鈥檚 chances may come down to whether Trump is looking for a secretary who has direct experience governing on education鈥攊n which case Brumley or someone like him may be the one to watch鈥攐r a flashy culture warrior, in which case Justice is a good bet, the former GOP congressional staffer added.
Democrats would likely push back hard on her nomination.
鈥淥ne would hope even Donald Trump would not want a repeat of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary,鈥� Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation for Teachers, said in an email. 鈥淚f we want to out-educate and out-innovate and out-compete the world, we need a builder as the Education secretary鈥攐ne who deeply cares about all God鈥檚 children and their families, educators and communities, and knows how to help them have safe and supportive classrooms so they can thrive. Tiffany Justice has proven she is the opposite.鈥�
For DeVos鈥� part, Trump鈥檚 former education secretary she was willing to serve in a second Trump administration, though she said she didn鈥檛 think the former president would ask her.
Justice would have to answer questions about Moms for Liberty鈥檚 record
Nominating Justice could be a risky move for Trump.
Even if he wins the White House, the U.S. Senate, which confirms cabinet nominees, may still be narrowly divided. DeVos needed then-Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie in the chamber to take the post.
Justice, who doesn鈥檛 have DeVos鈥� long record as a GOP donor and operative, may have an even tougher time securing support.
And she鈥檇 face plenty of tough questions at a confirmation hearing.
Moms for Liberty and its local chapters have been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist, antigovernment group. An Indiana chapter used a quote from Adolf Hitler in a newsletter, prompting a quick apology from its chair. The national group when they posed for pictures with members of the far-right Proud Boys.
News stories have also A Moms for Liberty spokeswoman said that any suggestion of a link between the two organizations is 鈥渁bsolutely not true.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Mom for Liberty has been in the involving Christian Ziegler, the former chair of the Florida Republican Party, who is married to Bridget Ziegler, one of the group鈥檚 original co-founders. Bridget Ziegler resigned from her role in Moms for Liberty within a month of its January 2021 launch, the spokeswoman said.
Justice and fellow Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich said in a statement following the reports that they were 鈥渢ruly shaken to read of the serious, criminal allegations against Christian Ziegler.鈥�
What Justice would prioritize as education secretary
So, if Justice were to become Ed. Sec. in a second Trump term, what would be her priorities?
Big picture: She said she鈥檇 like schools to stop focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion and start paying attention to academics.
鈥淥nly about a third of kids in American public schools in 4th grade are reading on grade level,鈥� said Justice, an apparent reference to 4th grade reading performance on the National Assessment for Educational Progress in 2022. 鈥淭hat is atrocious. This should be a flashing-red-light fire alarm for Americans. We are in such a horrible place when it comes to education.鈥�
And she doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 legally feasible or realistic to swiftly 鈥渁bolish鈥� the U.S. Department of Education, which Trump favors.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say things flippantly,鈥� Justice said. 鈥淭he truth is that it鈥檚 going to take work, and it鈥檚 going to take time to really understand what needs to still remain, what needs to go, what needs to go somewhere else鈥� within the federal government.
She鈥檇 like to dramatically expand school choice and give parents more of a voice in schools. She鈥檇 rescind the Biden administration鈥檚 new Title IX regulation, which explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation under the nation鈥檚 landmark law banning sex discrimination.
And Justice would seek to pull federal funding from schools that teach critical race theory. (There鈥檚 no evidence that teaching critical race theory, an academic framework taught at the university level, is widely prevalent in K-12 schools.)
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think our children should be taught to hate America, or that America鈥檚 systemically racist, or that somehow the color of their skin is some determining factor in their success in life,鈥� Justice said.
She鈥檇 also look to withhold funds from schools that teach about nonbinary and transgender identities.
鈥淣o money if you鈥檙e teaching gender ideology,鈥� Justice said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e teaching children that they鈥檝e been born in the wrong body, that somehow God made a mistake, and their parents were wrong, that they might have a penis, but they might be a girl? If you鈥檙e teaching that to children, no money.鈥�
But she鈥檚 also got some policy ideas that rank-and-file educators who don鈥檛 see eye to eye with her on cultural issues may be able to get behind.
Case in point: Justice contends there should be at least two teachers in every classroom, especially in early elementary school. She argues that teacher salaries are often far too low. She sees Trump鈥檚 idea of electing school principals as unworkable, believing that school boards are where voters should have their say.
But, like Trump, who proposed deep cuts to the education department鈥檚 budget during his presidential term, she wouldn鈥檛 push to increase funding for K-12.
Instead, she鈥檇 seek to refocus it.
鈥淪chools need to get back to the basics,鈥� Justice said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 only so much money to use, and we need to use it well. And we need to cut out all this other nonsense, all this other DEI baloney nonsense, all of the ideology, get it all out of the classroom. We don鈥檛 have a funding problem in American education. We have a priorities problem.鈥�
