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Just one month after President Donald Trump tapped her to be the second in command at the U.S. Department of Education, Penny Schwinn registered a new educational consulting business in Florida with a longtime friend and business colleague, according to state documents reviewed by 蜜桃影视.聽

The business venture never got off the ground, but the arrangement could raise ethical issues for Schwinn as she heads before the Senate education committee for confirmation Thursday.

The colleague with whom she co-founded the business, Donald Fennoy, told 蜜桃影视 in an interview that the enterprise, named New Horizon BluePrint Group, was intended to combine their expertise as education leaders. Fennoy, the former superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District, was to consult with districts, while Schwinn, who has experience in Delaware, Texas and most recently as Tennessee鈥檚 education commissioner, would focus on state leadership. The pair have known each other for a decade, Fennoy said, meeting when they were part of the 2015-16 class of the Broad Academy, an education leadership program.

But the business does not appear among financial ties outlined in mandatory disclosure documents Schwinn submitted to the Office of Government Ethics on March 24. One reason could be that three weeks earlier, Schwinn鈥檚 sister, , replaced her as manager of the business, according to state documents. Sully, a former assistant principal at a Texas charter school, has far less educational experience than Schwinn or Fennoy.

On Friday, as 蜜桃影视 began asking Schwinn and the department questions about the venture, Fennoy dissolved the company, documents show, listing 鈥渂usiness never started鈥� as the reason.

鈥淩ight when we were securing the name, she got a phone call,鈥� Fennoy told 蜜桃影视, referring to the nomination. The plan, he said, was to bring in at least one more leader with district experience and build a team to do work 鈥渘ationally and internationally.鈥�

On Jan. 18, Trump announced his pick of Schwinn to be the department鈥檚 deputy secretary, citing her 鈥渟trong record of delivering results for children and families.鈥� The LLC wasn鈥檛 registered until Feb. 18. 

But pressed for details about why Schwinn registered the business after her nomination, Fennoy appeared confused about the timeline. 鈥淭his is on what day?鈥� he asked in response to a reporter’s question. He did not respond to additional questions sent by email.

Contacted by 蜜桃影视, Schwinn referred the matter to the Education Department. Madison Bidermann, a department spokesman, declined to address why Schwinn moved forward with a business venture after her nomination and said the nominee 鈥溾�嬧�媤orked with the relevant ethics officials and resolved any conflicts.鈥�

Sully did not respond to attempts to contact her over email.

The Florida LLC would have been just one of Schwinn鈥檚 many business interests, detailed in the disclosure filed with the federal government. She stated in May that if confirmed, she would divest or resign her positions at multiple companies. 

Historically, potential business conflicts could raise red flags for senators vetting a potential nominee. As deputy secretary, Schwinn would be tasked with overseeing federal policy and a vast network of K-12 programs 鈥� the same policy and programs that districts might seek help from a consulting firm to navigate. 

She would also enter the department at a crisis point, as Education Secretary Linda McMahon drastically cuts staff and cancels funding to reach Trump鈥檚 goal of eliminating the department. The proposed 2026 budget slashes over $4 billion from K-12 programs, raising concerns that officials won鈥檛 be able to carry out their congressionally mandated duties 

鈥�This administration is unique鈥�

The period between nomination and confirmation is typically a time when candidates distance themselves from financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest. 

鈥淥nce you’re nominated, the typical rule of thumb would be that you kind of slow down,鈥� said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, interim vice president for policy and government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight, a nonprofit focused on government accountability. 鈥淵ou probably wouldn’t establish a new LLC, for example鈥� 

But Schwinn is not a typical nominee, and this is not a typical administration.

Trump reportedly held an exclusive dinner on May 22 for investors in his , a form of cryptocurrency. As president, he of his business empire. In the midst of negotiations with over punishing U.S. tariffs, for example, the country approved the development of Trump hotels and golf courses. Previous reporting revealed that FBI Director Kash Patel from a Chinese 鈥渇ast fashion鈥� company, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth鈥檚 wife in companies that contract with that department.

It鈥檚 not unusual for administrations to run into trouble with officials who have close ties to the industries they oversee, Hedtler-Gaudette said. In 2022, his group filed a complaint about a in charge of digital services who had investments in the tech industry.

鈥淏ut this administration is unique,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd just doesn’t seem to take any of that into consideration.鈥�

Schwinn is also an unusual choice. She has fans among GOP moderates and Democrats. The former and earned respect for toward academic recovery in Tennessee and implementing far-reaching instruction. 

For a Trump nominee, she has also faced a high degree of conservative ire. Some of that is due to her past support for the kind of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives the Trump administration wants to eliminate from schools, like . But accusations of conflicts of interest and other ethical lapses have followed her for years.

They include a $4.4 million that the Texas Education Agency signed in 2017 with SPEDx, a Georgia software startup, despite what a state audit called Schwinn鈥檚 鈥減rofessional relationship鈥� with a subcontractor for the company. At the time, she was a deputy superintendent of the state agency.

Critics also point to an in 2021 that the Tennessee Department of Education signed with TNTP, a teacher training organization where her husband was employed at the time. The state鈥檚 procurement office approved the contract and Schwinn agreed to distance herself from the project, but some lawmakers still considered the deal a 鈥溾��

鈥� 鈥楧rain the swamp鈥� is a phrase coined by President Trump, signifying the removal of corruption and special interests from government,鈥� said J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-union association. 鈥淢any conservatives oppose Penny Schwinn’s nomination as deputy secretary of education, believing she embodies the interests they want to eliminate from the agency.鈥� 

Others say she left the state better off. She pushed requirements that districts screen students for reading difficulties and use a phonics-based curriculum. After the state passed a in 2021, roughly 30,000 teachers received in the science of reading. The investments paid off. Tennessee was among the first to see test scores bounce back after the pandemic. Results from show students continue to make gains. 

To many education advocates, she represents the best chance to shift the national department鈥檚 focus away from culture war issues and toward bipartisan priorities like improving literacy and maintaining accountability. 

鈥淚 certainly wholeheartedly hope she gets approved, and think members on both sides would be gratified by her performance in office,鈥� said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 

Yet dozens of have sent senators letters outlining why they think she鈥檚 wrong for the job. They list, for example, her affiliation with Chiefs for Change, made up of left-leaning district and state officials, and cite about her support for they say has elements of critical race theory, which holds that racism in America is systemic.  

Several that Ruby Bridges鈥� children鈥檚 book about being the first Black child to integrate a white elementary school referenced 鈥渁 large crowd of angry white people.鈥� a first grade book about seahorses was inappropriate because it explains how males carry the eggs.

While never implemented, her plan to conduct 鈥渨ell-being鈥� home visits during the pandemic parents who consider it an example of government overreach.

If the committee advances Schwinn鈥檚 nomination, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican who is running for governor, is expected to vote against her, multiple sources told 蜜桃影视. 

鈥淪he鈥檚 a Democrat, through and through,鈥� said Elizabeth Story, legislative chair for the Tennessee chapter of Moms for Liberty, the conservative advocacy group that opposes progressive ideas in school about race, sex and gender. 鈥淲e need President Trump to withdraw her.鈥�

Just after her nomination, she met with anti-DEI activist Chris Rufo in an apparent effort to reassure the Trump administration she would be a good fit. According to on X, she promised to 鈥渟hut down the terrible programs at the Department of Education, fight critical race theory, gender cultism, and DEI in America鈥檚 schools, and support new initiatives on school choice and classical education.鈥�

If she loses the support of some conservatives, she may have to lean on Democrats to secure her nomination.

To Leslie Finger, an assistant political science professor at the University of North Texas, that would be an appropriate finale to a nomination that has veered far from the typical Trump playbook.

鈥淚n many ways, she seems opposed to the Trump administration’s education agenda,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne might think it was meant to show that they want to reach across the aisle on education issues, since she would be supported by bipartisan education reform types. But when has the Trump administration taken actions to signal bipartisanship?鈥�

Since leaving her post as Tennessee commissioner, Schwinn has invested in and been involved with companies at the forefront of education, her disclosure forms show. Those include , an AI reading curriculum program; , a vendor that manages education savings accounts in multiple states; and , an online curriculum and assessment company. She鈥檚 also a board member for Really Great Reading, a literacy program used in , and a consultant for , a lobbying firm.

Blake Harris, former communications director for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, founded BHA, where Schwinn served as chief operating officer until February. Two other LLCs she owns would cease operations, she wrote in a letter to the Education Department. 

John Pelissero, a government ethics expert at Santa Clara University in California, said her financial ties deserve a closer look.

鈥淲hat she puts down on her disclosure form for her confirmation is always kind of an important starting point for how transparent she will be,鈥� he said. 鈥淪crutiny should be given to whether she has the capacity to demonstrate that she’ll act in the public interest.鈥� 

鈥楢 pragmatist鈥�

Schwinn isn鈥檛 the first Trump nominee to face opposition from Republicans. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former majority leader from Kentucky, Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary But those objections focused more on the nominees鈥� qualifications, said Jonathan Collins, an assistant professor of education and political science at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Conservatives鈥� concerns about Schwinn, 鈥渟eem like more of a test 鈥� or critique 鈥� of her loyalty to the new Republican culture war coalition,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he’s as moderate as it gets. She’s a pragmatist who in no way pushes far-left progressive policies.鈥� 

Under McMahon, the department required states to sign a certification saying they wouldn鈥檛 implement DEI programs. The Office for Civil Rights has also prioritized investigations into state and district policies allowing transgender students to in school sports. 

Not all parental rights advocates are opposed to her nomination. 

Moms for America, founded in 2004, is a conservative, Christian organization that shares many of the same values as Moms for Liberty. Last year, the group presented Trump with its .

The organization, however, said Schwinn would make 鈥渁n excellent choice鈥� for deputy secretary, citing her 鈥渆xtensive experience as an educator, innovator and state leader.鈥�

As the department鈥檚 number two, she would oversee K-12 initiatives, which McMahon has said will prioritize the science of reading, school choice and giving states more control over education. 

鈥淪he has a proven ability to improve student outcomes, champion school choice, and navigate crises like the pandemic,鈥� the organization said in a statement to 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲e stand by her candidacy for nomination as deputy education secretary and wish her the best in that role.鈥� 

Disclosure: According to financial disclosure documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics, Penny Schwinn earned $250,000 as a consultant and adviser to the Walton Family Foundation. The foundation provides financial support to 蜜桃影视.

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