[Read our story on who could serve as education secretary under Kamala Harris.]
If former President Donald Trump wins the White House, educators will again ask a question they pondered eight years ago: Who could a president who wants to scrap the U.S. Department of Education pick to lead it?
Despite the lack of talk about K-12 policy from either candidate this election cycle, the broad policy strokes of a potential second Trump administration seem fairly apparent.
Trump鈥檚 secretary will likely support slimming down if not dismantling the Education Department; expanding school choice; slashing K-12 spending; and attacking school districts鈥� diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Plenty of GOP lawmakers, state education chiefs, and advocates could get on board with that agenda.
But a future secretary鈥檚 ability to communicate and champion Trump鈥檚 education policies may help determine their success.
Trump will have to decide whether he wants someone who has a 鈥減roven track record鈥� of managing education complex systems, or a 鈥渃ulture warrior,鈥� said David Cleary, who served as an aide to Republicans on the House and Senate education committees between 2002 and 2023, including as the Republican staff director for the Senate education committee.
For education secretary, Trump says: 鈥榃e鈥檒l get somebody great.鈥�
, Trump himself floated two potential candidates who he said could oversee the dismantlement of the education department: Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who ran for the GOP nomination before dropping out and endorsing Trump, and former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, who left Congress last year after an unsuccessful bid for governor.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states. And we鈥檙e going to do it fast. We鈥檒l get somebody great,鈥� Trump said Sept. 23 in Indiana, Pa. 鈥淟ee Zeldin is here with us tonight. I think that鈥檚 a job for Lee or Vivek, or we鈥檒l get somebody. We like Vivek. We need somebody with a lot of energy, a lot of strength, energy, and intelligence.鈥�
It鈥檚 uncertain if Trump really sees Ramaswamy or Zeldin as potential education secretaries, or if he was simply giving the two of them a shout-out because they happened to be on the scene. (Ramaswamy has been a warm-up act for Trump at other campaign events, though it鈥檚 not clear if he was present that evening.)
Trump has also mentioned Ramaswamy for , including suggesting this month at a campaign stop in Scranton, Pa., that he鈥檇 be great at negotiating trade issues with French President Emmanuel Macron.
It鈥檚 too early to say who is under serious consideration for the education secretary job, said Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign鈥檚 communications director.
鈥淧resident Trump announced a Trump Vance transition leadership group to initiate the process of preparing for what comes after the election,鈥� Cheung said in an emailed response. 鈥淏ut formal discussions of who will serve in a second Trump Administration is premature. President Trump will choose the best people for his Cabinet to undo all the damage dangerously liberal Kamala Harris has done to our country.鈥�
Both Zeldin and Ramaswamy share aspects of Trump鈥檚 vision for K-12 schools.
During his brief presidential run, Ramaswamy pledged to abolish the education department and enhance civics education. He supports banning 鈥渁ddictive social media鈥� for those under 16, and getting rid of what he calls 鈥済ender confusion 鈥榗are鈥� for minors,鈥� .
The site also calls for ending DEI programs and dismantling former President Lyndon Johnson鈥檚 鈥淕reat Society鈥� programs, which could include Title I grants to educate disadvantaged K-12 students and Head Start, an early childhood program for low-income families.
Zeldin, meanwhile, on getting rid of 鈥渄ivisive curriculum that pits children against one another based on race and other factors鈥� and expanding school choice.
A conservative-led war on 鈥榳oke鈥� political indoctrination in schools
Another possible contender who has appeared with Trump: Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms For Liberty, a parents rights organization.
Justice, who interviewed Trump on stage at her group鈥檚 annual convention in August, told 澳门跑狗论坛 recently she鈥檇 be 鈥渉onored to serve鈥� as his education secretary鈥攐r in another role in a potential second Trump term.
Members of Moms for Liberty focus 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.
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.
An potential education secretary with 鈥榓n extremely folksy, pleasant demeanor鈥�
Brumley鈥檚 name also surfaces as a possible Trump education secretary in conversations with Republicans in Washington who work on education policy.
During his four-year tenure in Louisiana, he鈥檚 pushed for what he describes as a to education, focusing on math, reading, and science rather than cultural issues, and for expanding school choice.
He鈥檚 also worked to stop identifying schools for intervention based on student suspensions and to make it easier for teachers to remove disruptive students from their classrooms.
Both policies fit into Brumley鈥檚 鈥淟et Teachers Teach Initiative,鈥� which also includes a move to streamline professional development requirements. While Brumley has framed this agenda as 鈥減ro-teacher,鈥� parts of it could rankle civil rights advocates who argue exclusionary discipline hinders student learning.
Brumley is also a defendant named in a lawsuit against a newly enacted state law requiring all classrooms to display a copy of the Ten Commandments.
Brumley, who has also served as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of two local districts,
In tapping him to remain at the helm of the Pelican State鈥檚 K-12 schools, the Louisiana State Board of Education cited significant year-over-year gains in student test scores.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 the most administratively effective and politically talented state superintendent on the right in America right now,鈥� said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 鈥淎nd he has an extremely folksy, pleasant, positive demeanor.鈥�
Also potentially helpful to his cause: Brumley鈥檚 home state senator, Bill Cassidy, a Republican, would be in line to chair the Senate education committee if the GOP takes the chamber, meaning he鈥檇 play a key role in shepherding Brumley through the confirmation process.
Oklahoma鈥檚 vigorous culture warrior
Another state education chief on Republicans鈥� radar: Ryan Walters of Oklahoma.
Walters, a , was elected to the position of superintendent of public instruction in 2022. Before that, he served as the Sooner State鈥檚 secretary of education in Gov. Kevin Stitt鈥檚 Cabinet.
Walters, who endorsed Trump, has developed a national reputation as one of the right鈥檚 most vigorous culture warriors, particularly when it comes to education.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy to help President Trump in any way that I can,鈥� Walters told 澳门跑狗论坛 in response to questions about whether he鈥檇 be interested in the secretary gig. 鈥淢y focus is to help him get elected. His Cabinet selections, that鈥檚 up to him.鈥�
Walters does believe Trump can accomplish what鈥檚 become something of a holy grail for the GOP: Getting rid of the Education Department.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be gone,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 truly believe that President Trump will be the president to truly do away with the Department of Education.鈥�
One of Walters鈥� own first acts in office was to attempt to revoke the license of a teacher who protested a new state law against teaching divisive concepts related to race and sex by sending her students a link to the Brooklyn Library, where they could access banned books. He鈥檚 required school districts to report on any spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
More recently, he鈥檚 pushed to put 55,000 Bibles in Oklahoma classrooms and direct teachers to teach from them. Only two versions of the Bible met the state鈥檚 original procurement requirements鈥攂oth personally endorsed by Trump. Oklahoma to include other versions.
One potential impediment: Walters鈥� tenure as state superintendent in Oklahoma鈥攁nd his earlier gig as the head of an education nonprofit鈥攈as been plagued with investigations into his integrity and managerial abilities.
For instance, shortly before becoming secretary of education, Walters reportedly helped a Florida-based tech company secure a no-bid contract to quickly distribute funding for school supplies to families during the pandemic. Some bought Christmas trees, gaming consoles, and outdoor grills, . Similar findings were later .
And just last month, a grand jury began looking into Walters in relation to misspending of pandemic relief funds,
Walters said that there was 鈥渁 vendor who had major problems鈥� and was held accountable. But he added that, in his view, he鈥檚 been unduly subjected to criticism because he has 鈥渢aken on the status quo.鈥�
鈥淲hen you take on the teachers鈥� unions aggressively and directly, they come after you,鈥� he said.
鈥楳y mom fought for me鈥�
Two other potential state superintendents could be in the mix: South Carolina鈥檚 Ellen Weaver, an elected Republican, and Florida鈥檚 Manny D铆az Jr.
Both support expanding school choice and have opposed what they perceive as 鈥渨oke ideology鈥� in schools, including rejecting the College Board鈥檚 AP African American studies course.
One potential pitfall for D铆az: He was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ran against Trump for the GOP nomination.
Another Floridian鈥檚 name has also surfaced as a possible Trump education secretary: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a . (The nod ultimately went to Ohio Sen. JD Vance.)
Donalds鈥� wife, Erika Donalds, .
Donalds used to stump for school choice, recounting how his single mother sacrificed financially to send him to private schools because the public schools didn鈥檛 challenge him academically.
鈥淒emocrat politicians wanted to trap me in a failing school, but my mom fought for me,鈥� Donalds said.
Betsy DeVos doesn鈥檛 expect to serve again
One name doesn鈥檛 come up as a possibility in conversations with GOP education sources in Washington: Betsy DeVos, who served as Trump鈥檚 education secretary during his first term.
DeVos resigned from Trump鈥檚 cabinet in a, the day after violent insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden鈥檚 victory.
鈥淭here is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,鈥� she wrote at the time.
Still, DeVos she was willing to serve in a second Trump administration, though she didn鈥檛 think the former president would ask her again. The New York Times recently reported on a fundraiser for Trump at his home in Trump Tower .
