No, Trump did not name Lauren Boebert education secretary on Nov. 13 | Fact check

The claim: Trump named Lauren Boebert as his education secretary on Nov. 13

A Nov. 13 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes an image showing President-elect Donald Trump standing next to Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

“BREAKING: Trump Names Boebert Secretary of Education,” reads the text on the image, which is a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Instagram post was liked more than 1,000 times in two days. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

There was no evidence to support the claim when it was posted. Trump hadn’t named a pick for education secretary as of Nov. 14.

Boebert once expressed interest in being secretary of the interior

Trump announced a slew of appointments for his second administration within days of winning the 2024 presidential election, including former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.

But Boebert wasn’t among the selections, as of Nov. 14.

Trump hadn’t mentioned any such appointment on his Truth Social account, nor did Boebert reference her supposed nomination on her X account. There were also no news reports from legitimate outlets about Trump appointing Boebert to his administration.

The president-elect had yet to announce a pick for education secretary as of Nov. 14. The position requires Senate confirmation.

Additionally, a version of the claim that circulated on X said at the bottom, “If you read this far, I’m sure you are like me and couldn’t tell if this was real at first or not.”

Fact check: Post falsely claims 2024 election had 20 million fewer votes

Boebert celebrated several of Trump’s nominations on X, including Gaetz as attorney general, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan as “border czar” and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

The congresswoman previously expressed interest in serving as secretary of the interior under a second Trump administration, The Hill reported. The position oversees the country's public lands and natural resources.

Boebert has condemned federal education mandates and supports school choice, according to her congressional website. She dropped out of high school but later obtained her GED.

Trump has pledged to dismantle the Department of Education in a second term, but such a move would require congressional approval, USA TODAY reported.

USA TODAY previously debunked claims that Trump named Amber Rose as education secretary, that more people voted against Trump than voted for him and that an authentic video shows Florida Sen. Marco Rubio admitting Trump’s presidency would rely heavily on Project 2025.

USA TODAY reached out to spokespeople for Trump and Boebert, as well as the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources

• Donald Trump, accessed Nov. 15, Truth Social

• Lauren Boebert, accessed Nov. 15, X account

• The New York Times, Nov. 15, Tracking Trump's Cabinet and Staff Nominations

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump hadn't named education secretary as of Nov. 14 | Fact check