On October 7, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Kimberly Richey as the next assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education in a 51-47 vote along party lines. The approval came as part of a resolution allowing senators to consider for confirmation Richey and over 100 other federal nominees at once.
Richey served as acting assistant secretary at the Education Department under the first Trump administration — first for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and then for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) — and also worked at OCR under the George W. Bush administration.
As assistant secretary of OCR, Richey will be responsible for overseeing investigations into alleged civil rights complaints, protecting all students’ civil rights, and drafting and implementing civil rights regulations, including but not limited to Title IX, Title VI and Section 504.
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