Senate confirms Trump's pick to oversee higher ed, a man tied to for-profit colleges

The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee higher education policy, a man with deep ties to the for-profit college industry, by a 50-to-45 vote on August 1.

Senate Majority John Thune filed cloture on Nicholas Kent’s nomination earlier in the week. And the education committee had already advanced Kent on a 12-11 vote without a hearing in late May.

The undersecretary at the Department of Education oversees billions in federal financial aid and is charged with ensuring America’s colleges provide a quality education.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon had previously told USA TODAY that Kent is a “natural leader” whose experience and concern for students “make him the ideal selection for under secretary of education."

He had won the support of several prominent university trade groups who are opposed to Trump’s attacks on universities, but said they supported Kent’s nomination. His confirmation comes as the Trump administration seeks to reshape higher education and has launched numerous investigations into high profile universities.

Kent had already been working at the agency on the administration’s initiatives like K-12 school choice. But prior to working in the government, Kent had a long history working for or close to for-profit colleges.

From 2008 to the end of 2015, Kent worked for Education Affiliates, a for-profit college company. When he left, he was a vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs. In 2015, the Department of Justice announced the company had agreed to a $13 million settlement to settle accusations it had gamed the federal financial aid system. The company told USA TODAY Kent was not involved in the settlement or the allegations of fraud.

Critics, including student advocacy groups and teacher unions, had called on the Senate education committee to put Kent through a public hearing to answer questions about his time working for the company. And one of the original whistleblowers tied to that case, Dorothy Thomas, expressed concern about someone from the company's leadership holding the under secretary position.

Kent had also worked for Career Education Colleges and Universities, a for-profit college trade group. He developed a reputation for deep policy knowledge while speaking against regulations geared toward the for-profit college industry. That group’s CEO, Jason Altmire, said Kent was not driven by partisan politics and would bring an unbiased view to the under secretary position.

He then went to work for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration as a deputy secretary of education. Youngkin, in a prepared statement, said Kent improved how Virginia manages colleges and made them more accountable to students and families through increased transparency. Chair of the Virginia Senate’s education committee, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, told USA TODAY Kent had tried to destabilize accreditation in the state and he was aligned with efforts to dismantle consumer protections.

In a departing message to the commonwealth, Kent said he was proud of reducing costs while pushing for free speech and accountability at Virginia’s colleges.

(This story has been updated to add new information and to correct a misspelling/typo.)Chris Quintana is an investigative reporter at USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected] or via Signal at 202-308-9021. He is on X at @CQuintanaDC