The Florida teachers union fought Ron DeSantis on every education policy he touched.
Wednesday they stood up in Orlando and cheered for his hand-picked education commissioner.
That moment tells you exactly how badly the Left lost the education war in Florida.
DeSantis Pulls Henry Mack From Trump's Cabinet
Henry Mack had one of the better jobs in Washington.
As Trump's assistant secretary of labor, he was cleaning up unemployment insurance fraud, building out registered apprenticeship programs, and making sure federal training money followed actual job demand instead of bureaucratic habits.
DeSantis wanted him back in Florida.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2079989901387260405?s=20
The governor recommended Mack to the State Board of Education last week.
The board didn't deliberate.
They didn't ask a single question.
They voted unanimously Wednesday to confirm him as Florida's next commissioner of education.
"It is an honor beyond words to be entrusted with stewarding Florida schools at this pivotal moment," Mack told the board.
Mack isn't a stranger to Tallahassee.
He spent four years – 2019 to 2023 – as senior chancellor at the Florida Department of Education, where he ran the state's college system, career education, and vocational rehabilitation programs.
He helped build the policy architecture that made Florida the national model other states now copy.
Then he left for the Trump administration, where he kept doing the same thing on a federal scale: connecting education to real workforce outcomes.
Now he's coming home to run the whole operation.
Heritage Foundation Ranked Florida Number One in Education Freedom Four Years Running
Here's what Mack is inheriting.
The Heritage Foundation has ranked Florida number one in education freedom four consecutive years.
https://twitter.com/Sachinettiyil/status/2080066353956856009?s=20
The Center for Education Reform has given Florida the top spot on its Parent Power Index four years running.
More than 1.4 million Florida students now participate in school choice programs – private, charter, virtual, or homeschool.
That's more kids than most states enroll in K-12 altogether.
DeSantis built that. Mack helped build it.
And now Mack will run it while the frontrunner to replace DeSantis – Trump-endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds – is already laying out plans to take it further.
Erika Donalds – Byron's wife and one of the most influential school choice advocates in the country – was at the board meeting Wednesday.
She called Mack "our next commissioner of education" and declared that Florida students won the day.
She's not wrong.
Donalds has spent his campaign rolling out personalized student success plans starting in sixth grade, doubling down on school choice, and promising to finish what DeSantis started.
Having Mack – a committed ally – running the department gives whoever wins in November a running start.
The Left Said Parental Rights Would Destroy Florida Schools
Then Carole Gauronskas stood up.
Gauronskas is vice president of the Florida Education Association – the union that fought DeSantis at every turn over teacher pay and parental rights policies.
https://twitter.com/nwfstatecollege/status/2079948917370658982?s=20
She walked to the microphone at Mack's confirmation hearing and welcomed him.
"We look forward to working collaboratively with Dr. Mack and enjoy the fruit of all of your hard work," she said.
When the union that spent years trying to block your agenda shows up to your confirmation to offer cooperation, you've won the argument.
For years, left-wing education groups said DeSantis was dismantling public education.
They said school choice would drain resources.
They said eliminating radical ideology from classrooms was censorship.
They said parental rights bills would harm students.
Florida's results said otherwise.
An 89.7 percent graduation rate.
Top-ten student achievement nationally.
Over half a million students in choice scholarship programs alone.
A state that went from a punchline in education circles to the model every serious reformer now studies.
Mack's background puts both halves of that equation in one person – the philosophical depth of a doctorate in education administration and philosophy from the University of Miami, and the workforce pragmatism that came from running Trump's employment training apparatus at the federal level.
DeSantis didn't find a caretaker for the seat.
He found someone who can drive the next phase while the governor's race plays out.
Florida parents won Wednesday.
The rest of America is still catching up.
Sources:
- Governor Ron DeSantis, "Governor Ron DeSantis Recommends Dr. Henry Mack for Education Commissioner," Executive Office of the Governor, July 18, 2026.
- Florida Department of Education, "Dr. Henry Mack Unanimously Appointed as Florida's Commissioner of Education by State Board of Education," FLDOE Newsroom, July 22, 2026.
- Governor Ron DeSantis, "Florida Ranks #1 in Education Freedom for the Fourth Consecutive Year," Executive Office of the Governor, September 9, 2025.
- Fox 13 Tampa Bay, "Byron Donalds pushes Florida education plan centered on building student career pathways starting in 6th grade," May 30, 2026.
