UPDATED
President-elect Donald Trump doesn鈥檛 have a track record on education, which means that his choice of education secretary will send a really important signal on where he wants to go in terms of policy on the Every Student Succeeds Act, higher education, and more.
So who is on the short list? Tough to say, but here are some names making the rounds inside the Beltway:
Dr. Ben Carson: The neurosurgeon was among Trump鈥檚 opponents in the Republican presidential primaries and later endorsed him. As a candidate, Carson鈥檚 proposed education agenda, like Trump鈥檚, centered on school choice. It鈥檚 easy to imagine that Carson, who is famous for separating conjoined twins, would spend a lot of time as secretary talking about the importance of science education. It鈥檚 unclear what form that would take though, given some of Carson鈥檚 other views. As secretary, Carson could revive the culture wars over how to teach evolution, since he鈥檚 said in the past he doesn鈥檛 believe in it. UPDATE: It doesn鈥檛 look like Carson is interested in serving in Trump鈥檚 cabinet, .
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin: Walker, also a one-time Trump GOP primary rival, is probably best known for rolling back collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers, in Wisconsin. It鈥檚 unclear if he wants to sit at the helm of the education department, but a lot of Republicans in Washington have him on the top of their wish list. Since Walker is, or at least was, a rising star in the party, such a pick could elevate the importance of the issue.
Gerard Robinson: The former state chief in Virginia and Florida is now a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and a leader of Trump鈥檚 transition team on education. . (Robinson was speaking only for himself in the interview, not on behalf of any organization.)
Williamson Evers: A research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, he served in a top policymaking role鈥攁ssistant secretary of planning, evaluation, and policy鈥攄uring the tail end of the President George W. Bush鈥檚 administration. Evers, who has worked for past GOP presidential campaigns, is also a leader of the Trump transition team. He鈥檚 a veteran of the so-called 鈥渕ath wars鈥� in California, has opposed teacher tenure, and was part of the Bush administration鈥檚 efforts to restart K-12 education in Iraq. More in this story. One possibility: Evers doesn鈥檛 become secretary, but gets a key role in the administration that could matter just as much on K-12, such as deputy secretary (the No. 2 post in the department).
Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana: The GOP congressman pushed legislation that would allow Title I money for disadvantaged kids to follow students to the school of their choice, including a private school. That proposal ultimately foundered, but Messer has done . And he has a track record of working in a bipartisan way. He鈥檚 teamed up with Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., on student data privacy legislation, for instance.
Former Indiana state chief Tony Bennett: Bennett, who was a driving force in Chiefs for Change in its early days, is close to both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and incoming Vice President Mike Pence, who served as governor of Indiana. As state chief, Bennett, a Republican, pushed for an ambitious education redesign agenda, including teacher evaluation through student outcomes, A through F grades for schools, an expansion of charter schools and vouchers, and more. He was also a consistent supporter of the Common Core State Standards, which Trump doesn鈥檛 like. But his hard charging style didn鈥檛 sit well with some educators, and he was . (Ritz went on to lose her own re-election bid this year.) Later, .
But he came under scrutiny when emails showed that, during his tenure in Indiana, he had The school, Christel House, was run by a philanthropist who donated to Bennett鈥檚 campaign. Bennett left his gig in Florida, and was by the Indiana State Ethics Commission. He was found guilty of using state resources for political purposes, and had to pay a $5,000 fine.
Admiral William McRaven: He is a former United States Navy admiral who oversaw special operations, and is the current chancellor of the University of Texas system. He鈥檇 be the first secretary with a primarily higher education background since Lauro Cavazos who served as education secretary under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Tony Zeiss: The former president of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C. retired in February after more than two decades of service. The school became a national leader in workforce development under his watch, according to the Charlotte Observer. His work even got a shout-out in President Barack Obama鈥檚 2012 State of the Union address. Zeiss, whose name surfaced late Tuesday, . And like Pence, he鈥檚 a Hoosier.
Eva Moskowitz or Michelle Rhee: Both of these 鈥渞eformey鈥� Democrats were floated by a Trump spokesman during an appearence on MSNBC. Moskowitz is the founder of Success Academy Charter Schools, Rhee is the controversial former chancellor of public schools in the District of Columbia, where she pushed through policies like performance pay. Both are Democrats, so their policies could be pretty different from most of the other folks on this list.
Jeanne Allen: She鈥檚 a long-time school choice advocate who founded the Center for Education Reform, which champions vouchers and charter schools. Allen served as a senior aide at the U.S. Department of Education under President Ronald Reagan. In May, Allen said she rejected the opportunity to advise Trump鈥檚 campaign on education issues, telling us, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want my issues coming out of his mouth.鈥�
It sounds like Allen may have reconsidered since then. She was heartened by the selection of Pence, and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, she said on Twitter.
Guilty in May. Much changed after, 4 all involved, including selecting &
鈥� Jeanne Allen (@JeanneAllen)
A Total Outsider: Before the election, Carl Paladino, a school member in Buffalo, N.Y., and Trump surrogate, told the Council of the Great City Schools that Trump could go completely outside the box on the education secretary pick and choose a business leader or someone with experience outside of education.
In addition, two other school choice advocates, Betty DeVos, a philanthropist, and Kevin Chavous, a former D.C. City council member and a Democrat, are also possibilities. Both sit on the board of directors of the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy organization. ).
Of course, filling the lower-level positions at the department, such as the deputy secretary and assistant secretaries, can have an equally outsized impact on K-12. Over at Rick Hess Straight Up, the education policy director at AEI .
Did we miss someone? Email us at aklein@epe.org, or aujifusa@epe.org. We will update this post as new names trickle out.