Tennesseans Torch Christopher Rufo’s Uninformed and Ineffective Defense of Penny Schwinn

Tennessee conservatives have lambasted education journalist and author Christopher Rufo for the support he expressed for Penny Schwinn, the former Tennessee Education Commissioner who was controversially nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the Deputy Secretary of Education last week.

After meeting with Schwinn, Rufo wrote in a Tuesday post to the social media platform X that the former Tennessee official provided sufficient answers to the allegation she allowed sexually explicit material to remain in school libraries and supported “wellbeing checks” for all Tennessee students.

In Rufo’s reporting, Schwinn claimed there were never sexually explicit materials in schools despite Tennessee school boards continuing to remove titles after her departure.

Rufo also reported that Schwinn’s support for “wellbeing checks” was falsely included in a document by a staffer, but did not explain why she stated a 2020 Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) press release, “Since we know many children have experienced adversity due to the pandemic, child wellbeing checks are a deliberate way all stakeholders in the community can help ensure the needs of our children are met.”

Multiple Tennessee conservatives and pundits replied to Rufo’s post, with some expressing doubt that the Florida-based writer could know more about Schwinn’s tenure than citizens of Tennessee.

John Rich, the conservative country music star and political pundit who lives in Tennessee, specifically contradicted Rufo’s defense of Schwinn’s policies regarding sexually explicit materials in schools.

“I personally met with Schwinn and [Governor Bill] Lee in their office and showed them images from some of these books, and read the language. I also showed them the links that were offered at public schools that allowed kids to be linked to adult sites,” Rich wrote in a post to X. “Schwinn acted as if she had no idea about any of it, then promised me all of it would be handled. It wasn’t.”

He told Rufo, “Your account of this story is not accurate.”

Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, similarly replied to Rufo’s defense of Schwinn in a post to X.

“Chris, I’ve admired your work for many years. I was disappointed to see the HUGE MISTAKE you made allowing yourself to fall for Penny Schwinn’s manipulation of her record here in TN,” wrote Leahy, providing a link to the Saturday reporting by The Star about Schwinn’s history in the Volunteer State.

Robby Starbuck, the Tennessee-based conservative activist and filmmaker who has secured commitments to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs from companies as large as Walmart, similarly expressed consternation toward Rufo.

“You know I respect you Chris but this is just absolutely incorrect,” wrote Starbuck. “Penny was not on the right side of things with CRT, COVID and the inappropriate books. She also championed equity consistently. She doesn’t deserve a promotion.”

Starbuck told Leahy during a Wednesday appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show that Schwinn’s team contacted him to schedule a meeting in the wake of his criticism.

“Maybe it will be canceled after this because of me saying it,” said Starbuck. “It was at their request not mine.”

Pointing to his previous criticism of Schwinn, Starbuck added, “I didn’t even want to reply to this publicly but people are taking it as a refutation of what I said about her days ago so I have to respond to this because it dismisses our very real experiences as parents with her tenure here.”

Conservative advocacy group and news outlet Tennessee Stands additionally warned Rufo that Schwinn, “is not an honest broker.”

The group wrote, “it’s a bit disingenuous to think that you are better informed on state level issues versus a myriad of grassroots conservatives in TN stating the opposite.”

Author and activist Dr. James Lindsay also told Rufo in a post to X that Schwinn was, “a disaster for education in Tennessee,” before signing his post, “An informed, connected Tennessean.”

More criticism was levied by Dr. Carol Swain, who was among the earliest critics of Schwinn’s appointment.

“Ms. Schwinn is a proponent of DEI and CRT. How is she going to help dismantle DOE and return power to state governments and parents?” Swain questioned Rufo in one post to X.

She wrote in another, “It scares me that Ms. Schwinn has some powerful conservatives pushing her. I have been contacted about meeting with her. My position on Ms. Schwinn is simple. We should look at her track record and not at her promises to convert to conservative views on education. Ms. Schwinn inspires zero confidence among the conservatives in Tennessee who have had to deal with her.”

If both nominees are confirmed, Schwinn would serve under Linda McMahon, who Trump nominated to serve as the Secretary of Education.

– – –

Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].