Fact Check

Did President Trump Name Lori Loughlin Education Secretary?

"Trump praised Loughlin for her 'disruptive approach' to college admissions and expressed hope that she could bring the same brand of innovative thinking to the Department of Education."

Published April 12, 2019

Claim:
President Trump has named actress Lori Loughlin as U.S. Secretary of Education.

In mid-April 2019, a number of Facebook users encountered posts linking to an article headlined "Trump Names Lori Loughlin Education Secretary":

Some readers apparently didn't click through to read the underlying article, else they likely would have likely noticed a bit of red text above the headline stating that the article was a bit of satire from the well-known humorist Andy Borowitz:

Andy Borowitz is an award-winning humorist who satirizes politics and current events in his column "The Borowitz Report," published by The New Yorker. In this instance, Borowitz was poking fun at both the high turnover of officials in the Trump administration, the arrest of Loughlin for money laundering in relation to a college admissions scandal involving her daughters, and general criticism of current Secretary of Education Betsy Devos:

The shakeup in the Trump Administration continued on Wednesday as Donald Trump named a fellow television personality, Lori Loughlin, to be the new Secretary of Education.

In making the announcement, Trump praised Loughlin for her “disruptive approach” to college admissions and expressed hope that she could bring the same brand of innovative thinking to the Department of Education.

As of this writing, the Secretary of Education cabinet post is still held by Betsy Devos.

Sources

Sager, Jessica.   "Lori Loughlin Reportedly in Panic Mode at Potential Prison Time for College Admissions Scandal."     Fox News.   11 April 2019.

Svrluga, Susan.   "Lori Loughlin and 15 Other Parents Face Additional Charges in College Admissions Scandal."     The Washington Post.   9 April 2019.

Lu, Denise and Karen Yourish.   "The Turnover at the Top of the Trump Administration."     The New York Times.   9 April 2019.

Strauss, Valerie.   "Why Can’t Betsy DeVos Give a Direct Answer to a Direct Question?"     The Washington Post.   10 April 2019.

Borowitz, Andy.   "Trump Names Lori Loughlin Education Secretary."     The New Yorker.   10 April 2019.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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