President Donald Trump plans to nominate Carlos G. Muñiz, a former attorney to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as general counsel to the U.S. Education Department (USED).
Muñiz is senior vice president for the firm McGuireWoods, based in Tallahassee, Florida.
According to his biography, Muñiz “provides senior level insight and advocacy for clients in their interaction with state attorneys general throughout the country and with the executive and legislative branches of Florida state government.”
“Carlos has experience in matters involving myriad industries, including financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and education,” his bio further states.
Muñiz also served as deputy attorney general and chief of staff to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. He earned degrees from the University of Virginia and Yale Law School.
Other U.S. Education Department staff who have worked for Bush at his foundation include Neil Ruddock, former regional advocacy director at FEE, and Josh Venable, who is now “senior advisor to the secretary” at USED.
Bush lost the GOP primary in 2016, in part because of his vocal support for the Common Core standards. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos contributed financially and served as a board member of Bush’s pro-Common Core Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE).