The U.S. Senate voted 50 to 45 to confirm Nicholas Kent as under secretary at the Education Department, where he’ll oversee higher ed policy, USA Today reported.
Kent, who was most recently the deputy secretary of education in Virginia, has lobbied on behalf of for-profit colleges in his role as chief policy officer at Career Education Colleges and Universities. He’s expected to take a lead role in the Trump administration’s plans to roll back policies put in place by the Biden administration and implement the president’s agenda.
But Kent hasn’t talked publicly about what his priorities will be, and the Senate didn’t hold a confirmation hearing for him.
Still, the American Council on Education and other groups have backed Kent. In a letter to the Senate in March, ACE president Ted Mitchell wrote, “Mr. Kent has demonstrated the temperament and approach needed to succeed as under secretary, which is no small thing.”
“To be clear, this administration has already taken a number of actions we find deeply concerning and has employed rhetoric directed towards colleges and universities that we strongly disagree with,” Mitchell added. “However, we also know that even as Mr. Kent will work to implement policies we may oppose, he will approach these disagreements with an open mind, centering students, taxpayers, and institutions while seeking the best outcome.”
CECU president Jason Altmire said in a statement Friday that Kent “is exactly what is needed at the Department at this time of transition in higher education. His profound understanding of the complexities of higher education policy and thoughtful approach to implementing commonsense reforms that support students, families, and taxpayers make him eminently qualified for the role.”
Altmire added that he’s looking forward to working with Kent “to address the long-overdue reforms needed in higher education.”
