President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday his picks for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and multiple deputy assistants to the president in the Office of Legislative Affairs.

On Saturday morning, Trump announced he nominated Penny Schwinn, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

While in Tennessee, Schwinn oversaw the department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, implemented Gov. Bill Lee‘s school voucher program and overhauled the state’s school funding formula, the Associated Press reported.

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Schwinn previously worked at the Texas Education Agency as the deputy commissioner of standards and engagement, deputy commissioner of special populations and monitoring, and chief deputy commissioner of academics. 

She was also the assistant secretary of education in Delaware.

Trump congratulated Schwinn on Saturday in a post on Truth Social. 

“A former teacher herself, Penny became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations to Penny and her wonderful family!”

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Schwinn holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins, and a Ph.D. from Claremont.

On Saturday afternoon, Trump announced Jay Fields, Jeffrey Freeland, and Pace McMullan as deputy assistants to the president and deputy directors of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

Fields started his career in Congress in 2015, most recently serving as deputy policy director for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. 

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Prior to his most recent role, Fields was the executive director of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC), an organization comprised of more than 170 House Republican members. He also served in multiple policy roles for the RSC and other House Republican offices.

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Freeland began working for Trump as a congressional liaison during the early part of the 2016 Republican primaries, helping to build support among House Republicans. 

President-elect Trump announced a handful of administration positions on Saturday. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

The role led him to the White House, where he initially served as the House liaison for the Office of Management and Budget. 

In the second year of the administration, Freeland transitioned to the East Wing, where he worked as a special assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs until the end of Trump’s first term.

McMullan has worked in Congress since 2013, beginning in the House of Representatives, where he served as a legislative director. 

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Since 2019, McMullan has worked in the Senate as a legislative director, and most recently as executive director of the Senate Steering Committee.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

An 8-year-old Florida boy was “brutally mauled and killed” after he stopped riding his bike to pet two dogs at the entrance of a Florida neighborhood on Monday, according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Michael Millett was riding bikes with a friend in the Berry Ridge neighborhood in DeLand on Monday at around 4:55 p.m. when he was “maliciously mauled” to death at the scene by two dogs who appeared to be friendly at first, Chitwood said.

“It goes from petting, and a very friendly encounter, to the dogs becoming very, very, very vicious and very violent,” Chitwood said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Millett was bitten 12 times by the two dogs, which have been identified as a Pit Bull Terrier and possibly a Catahoula, or some other herding breed.

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Chitwood said he wasn’t sure how long the attack lasted, but that he does not think the little boy suffered for a long time as his injuries were “just horrific.”

“We are going to do everything humanly possible to hold the owner of these dogs responsible, and we are going to do everything possible to make sure that these dogs are destroyed,” the sheriff said.

The dogs were ultimately taken into custody by Volusia County Animal Services after being chased back to their property by deputies, and VCAS Director Angela Miedema said the agency is waiting on the owner to sign the dogs over for “humane euthanasia.”

“Every one of his 12 bite wounds have been swabbed for DNA so we can conclusively say that these two dogs that they have in custody are the dogs responsible for Michael’s death,” the sheriff said.

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The owner, who has the ability to appeal with due process, is known to law enforcement and has been arrested nine times in the past for various charges related to drugs, domestic violence and assault, according to Chitwood.

She was not on her property at the time of the attack or when the dogs ran back to their home, which is approximately half a mile from where Millett was killed.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood showed bodycam video of deputies approaching the two dogs responsible for killing 8-year-old Michael Millett. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office / bodycam)

State attorneys are involved in the investigation and Chitwood said his priorities are to make sure the owner is charged and the dogs are “destroyed.”

“She needs to be held accountable,” Chitwood said. “We have to prove negligence as the bottom bar.”

When deputies and animal control officers arrived at the property to confiscate the dogs, they noted that the property was not fully fenced in, and the dogs had the ability to get out easily, which was confirmed by neighbors who told authorities that the dogs regularly ran astray.

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“As we went door to door last night, we heard horrific stories of how the dogs are always at large, of how they destroyed chickens,” Chitwood said on Tuesday, adding that the dogs were possibly involved in another incident in another county.

Despite reports that the dogs were often out roaming, Chitwood said there were not any 911 calls to the sheriff’s office or animal services about the animals or the address they live at.

Volusia County Animal Services Director Angela Miedema said the two dogs were confiscated at their home in a humane manner. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office / bodycam)

“Clearly, this just didn’t happen in a vacuum,” Chitwood said. “These dogs have been terrorizing the neighborhood for a while and nobody decided to call us.”

The only 911 call related to the dogs that Chitwood was aware of is the one made on Monday reporting the attack on Millett, in which his mother can be heard screaming for help in the background.

She reportedly jumped on top of him to stop the attack and attempted CPR, which was unsuccessful as he died at the scene. The dogs never attacked the mother or the other kids in the area, and Chitwood said he isn’t sure why Millett was the only one bitten.

A dog bite fatality expert is working with the county medical examiner to determine more details about the deadly incident, including which dog attacked first and which one caused the most bites.

“Pet ownership is an enormous responsibility,” Miedema said. “You have a lot of responsibilities as a dog owner to keep your animal confined to your property and ensure the public’s safety, as well as ensure things like socialization and training to make sure that this animal is not a threat to anybody else.”

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood (right) and Volusia County Animal Services Director Angela Miedema (left) said they are working to make sure the owner of the dogs is held accountable for the deadly attack. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook)

A GoFundMe set up for Millett’s parents by other family members described his death as a “tragic accident” and devastating.

“Our family is devastated with the loss of Michael,” read the fundraiser, which has amassed more than $40,000. “He was incredibly smart, funny, caring, loving, and so adventurous. Michael’s contagious laugh and light will be missed tremendously.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has ordered flags at state buildings to be raised to full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

This comes despite the official order by President Biden after the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29 that flags at all government and public buildings and grounds across the country fly at half-staff for a 30-day mourning period, which just happens to include Inauguration Day.

It is a tradition when a former president dies to order a 30-day mourning period and order flags at half-staff.

Biden said the U.S. flag “should be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions.”

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Governors across the country issued their own orders regarding how to fly flags in their respective states on Inauguration Day.

DeSantis joins other Republican governors who will break tradition and fly flags at full-staff before the mourning period ends Jan. 28. He ordered that all flags at the Florida Capitol and across all state buildings, installations and grounds to be raised to full height on Jan. 20.

“On this unique occasion, where we simultaneously celebrate the service of an incoming president and commend the service of a former president, our nation’s flag will be prominently displayed at full-staff to honor the tradition of our founding fathers and the sacrifices made by those who have served to ensure the torch of liberty continues to bum strong,” DeSantis said in his order.

“The following day, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, all flags at state buildings, installations, and grounds across the State of Florida will once again be lowered to half-staff to honor President Carter’s service,” the governor said.

Former President Jimmy Carter. (Photo via Emma Woodhead/Fox Digital)

House Speaker Mike Johnson also ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day.

Trump has criticized the potential for flags to be displayed at half-staff for his inauguration following Carter’s death.

“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

“Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years – It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast,” he continued. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Flags were flown at half-staff when former President Nixon was sworn-in for his second term in 1973 after Nixon ordered the flags to be lowered following the death of former President Truman.