The two Republicans vying to lead the House Committee on Education and the Workforce share a culturally conservative outlook and a commitment to their party’s political agenda.
But Reps. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Burgess Owens of Utah have different backgrounds that would shape the way they guide the panel. The House Republican Steering Committee could select a successor to the Education panel’s outgoing chairwoman, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, as early as Monday.
The Education Committee has been at the forefront of some of the nation’s most divisive social and political debates, including the participation of transgender students in scholastic sports, campus antisemitism and free speech, parents rights, school choice and the Republican push against diversity initiatives and the “woke agenda” in public schools.
Walberg, who made an unsuccessful bid for the chairman’s gavel two years ago, says he’d address all of those issues. The son of a teacher and a unionized steelworker, he was first elected to the House in 2006 and now represents a deep-red southern Michigan district, with a sizable population of blue-collar, formerly Democratic voters.
Walberg, who helped put himself through college by working in a steel mill, also promises a stronger focus on workforce development: He backs expanding apprenticeship programs and allowing Pell grants to cover the cost of short-term training programs, not just college tuition.
“We’ve wrung our hands for too long about boys not going on to college,’’ said Walberg, who’s served on the committee for 16 years. “There are probably several reasons for that, but we also know that there are plenty of boys — and girls — who, given the opportunity to see what’s out there, can make [other] choices.”
Walberg’s call for increased federal support of alternatives to the typical college experience echoes views expressed by Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education secretary. He also said he intends to address student privacy concerns brought on by an increased reliance on data and technology within public schools.
Owens, a Super Bowl-winning former NFL player, was just elected to a third term representing a Republican-leaning seat in central Utah. In an interview Friday, he highlighted his personal connection to education: His mother was a teacher, and his father was an agronomy professor at Florida A&M University.
“The biggest benefit and blessings of the community I grew up in is that our parents had such high expectations for their kids,” said Owens, who is one of four Black Republicans in the House. “Being respectful, working hard … never quitting [and] never, ever think of yourself as a victim.”
Owens decried the left-wing philosophy and diversity initiatives that he says undergird educational philosophy.
“We’re going to make sure we continue to become a more perfect union by getting out every bit of communist, Marxist, woke ideology,’’ he said. “That goes against everything America stands for.”
Education has in recent years become a central issue for Republicans, as Trump and other candidates have sought to tap into the frustrations of blue-collar voters without college degrees, a growing segment of the party’s base.
Republicans have vigorously pushed back against President Joe Biden’s effort to forgive some student loan debt. Last year, the presidents of Harvard and Penn resigned following an intense grilling by members of the committee at a hearing on campus antisemitism.
“For the first time last term, education was a top priority for the Republican Conference. It really never has been in the past,’’ Owens said. “Now that we have the House, the Senate and a president, who understands the power of this … we [can] first of all start cutting back [on] the fluff, the waste, the fraud and get into what the mission is.”
‘Parents bill of rights’
Both Walberg and Owens said advancing a bill that would require local schools to give parents greater oversight over their child’s education would be among their priorities as chair.
In 2023, the House approved what backers nicknamed a “parents bill of rights,’’ which would have required education officials to provide parents with lists of books and other curriculum materials, online budgetary information and alerts about incidents of violence at their child’s school.
Schools also would have to notify parents if their child uses a different name or pronouns at school and, under an amendment offered by Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, parental notification would be required if a transgender girl participated in female sports.
Democrats dismissed the measure as a political gimmick that would lead to book bannings and harm to LGBTQ students, and the bill never came up in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“There are all sorts of values, beliefs, lifestyles that are out there,’’ said Walberg, who has a background in Christian education. “But in the end, we have to undergird the priority of parents. They want to be involved in their kids’ education. They don’t want anybody else to make those decisions.’’
Advocates from across the political spectrum said they expect the key components of the parents bill of rights — particularly efforts to restrict trans girls from participating in female sports — to reemerge this Congress.
“I do think that we will see this as one of the educational priorities of the Trump administration … given what we heard from him during the campaign,’’ said Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools for the National Women’s Law Center, an advocacy group that opposed the measure.
Matt Sharp, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has brought legal action on behalf of female athletes opposed to transgender participation in female sports, said he’s hopeful such legislation could receive bipartisan support.
“We know that this is something that President-elect Trump has referenced … preserving the integrity of women’s sports,’’ he said. “So we hope to see his administration take steps towards that, and ultimately Congress as well.”
This report has been corrected to reflect the year Rep. Tim Walberg was first elected to Congress.
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