“I think so many of our educators, when they hear about these programs coming from the federal government, they're just thinking, 'Uh, that's another book of paperwork that I'm going to have to do,' and teachers are so weighed down with that.”

American politician and businesswoman, senior United States senator for Tennessee

Mary Marsha Blackburn is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator for Tennessee. A Republican, she was first elected to the Senate in 2018. Before her time in the Senate, Blackburn served in the Tennessee state senate from 1999 to 2003, then represented Tennessee’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House from 2003 to 2019. During her years in the House, the National Journal ranked her among its most conservative members.