The Senate approved Miguel Cardona’s nomination for Secretary of Education on March 1, 2021, by a 63-43 vote. The following day he was sworn into office. Since then, Mr. Cardona has been a very busy man, traveling and pushing full throttle ahead to fulfill the Biden administration’s sweeping education reforms. So, where did the country’s new Secretary of Education come from?

Only 46 years old, Secretary Cardona has had a fast track to the top in education. He began his career in his hometown of Meriden, Connecticut, where he served as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent. In 2019, he was appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to the position of Commissioner of Education. Cardona’s parents were Puerto Rican and spoke Spanish at home. He grew up in Meriden, Connecticut, in a housing project and attended Meriden schools.

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President Biden told the American people his picks for cabinet members would be diverse. In reality, most of his team have one major thing in common, they either worked for President Obama or were chosen for the Biden team by someone who worked in the Obama administration. Mr. Cardona is no exception. Linda Darling-Hammond, one of former President Obama’s key advisors on restructuring education and a member of the Obama 2008 transition team, also served as a member of the 2021 Biden transition team. Darling-Hammon is credited with presenting Dr. Cardona as a candidate to become the 12^th Secretary of Education under President Biden.

He has challenged the autonomy and authority of parents and states. When Florida’s Broward and Alachua counties defied Governor DeSantis’ executive order on mask mandates in Florida schools, Secretary Cardova immediately issued a press release stating that all the power of the CARES, CRRSA, of American Rescue Plan funds, would be used against Florida to support Froward and Alachua counties the right to require masks. In bold letters, the press release told the defiant counties, “We stand with you.”

Furthermore, Secretary Cardona has no problem threatening to withhold federal funds to any school district that does not enforce a mask mandate in its public schools. He recently penned a letter to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and State School Superintendent Molly Spearman reminding them the CDC’s safety recommendations included the universal and correct wearing of masks. If South Carolina failed to follow CDC’s guidelines, their ability to receive federal school relief funds could be in jeopardy. Then he added that he would be reviewing and monitoring South Carolina’s actions.

Secretary Cardona also sent a similar threatening letter to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee after the state put an opt-out mask order for the state’s public schools. The letter threatened to closely review and monitor whether Tennessee followed the CDC’s federal guidelines.

Clearly the Biden Administration, and Secretary Cardona, are not principled in terms of the legal rights of states and counties. Rather, they have decided they are pro-mask, and the law is apparently immaterial.

What about his position on another hot topic–CRT? He’s tried to be evasive about his position on CRT in class instruction, always deferring to the statement that curricula will be made at the local level. However, his history speaks for itself. Secretary Cardona oversaw critical race theory courses for high-schoolers before leaving his former job as Commissioner of Education in Connecticut. Along with the DoE, he has committed to disburse grants from the DoE that would reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students to create inclusive, supportive, and identity-safe learning environments. We have no reason to believe that America’s greatness will be a part of his plan.

Secretary Cardona doesn’t mind traveling to other countries to show solidarity with other leaders. In late July, when the newly elected Marxist Pedro Castillo was sworn in as President of Peru, Secretary Cardona led a delegation to Peru to attend the inauguration. Once a rural school teacher in one of Peru’s poorest districts, Castillo became popular by leading a successful teacher’s strike in 2017.

Secretary Cardona has had a peaceful transition into his new position at the DoE. He has traveled to schools to speak on behalf of the Biden administration. He has traveled to other countries to represent the U.S. government. He has done a lot in the first six months of his new job and has accomplished a lot. The fact that he has had peace speaks volumes. He can appease the hostile resisters in our country because he is like them. Secretary Cardona’s first six months are in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Secretary Betsy DeVos. Within six months of her taking office, she was attacked, spit on, and denied access to speak at a public school. On one visit to Morehouse College, the students booed, and many turned their back on her while she spoke.

Currently, the future of federal policy at the DoE will be a continuation of the Obama policies. The outlook for conservatives, while bleak, is not beyond God’s intervention. Our part is to pray for Secretary Cardona as well as the Department of Education.

About the Author: Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. Currently, Nancy serves as the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) Lead Prayer Coordinator for the Mountain of Education. For additional information go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/. Picture credit: Getty Images.